


Various skeletons get hurt

by SkylerSkyhigh, xXUndertale_loverXx



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Death, Aftermath of Torture, Agony, Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Anger, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Bad Days, Bad Mood, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blurry vision, Breaking down, Broken Bones, Censorship, Cleaning Up, Cliffhangers, Comfort, Complicated clothes, Concern, Crying, Danger, Destruction, Distress, Dizziness, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional distraught, Emotional pain, Fear, Fighting, Gaster Blasters, Gen, Haze - Freeform, Head Injury, Healing, Healing gel, Heavy Angst, Horrible Timing, Hugs, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Injury, Instant Regret, Insults, Knight in Shining Armour, Magic, Major Character Injury, Misunderstandings, Murder, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Nervous Habits, Nervousness, Night Terrors, POV Multiple, Pain, Panic, Panic Attacks, Passing Out, Poor Cross, Poor Horror, Proving oneself, Regret, Revenge, Screaming, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Separation Anxiety, Shivering, Sobbing, Taking out anger on somebody, Torture, Trembling, Unconsciousness, Vertigo - Freeform, Water, Worry, Wounds, XD, accidental murder, bad habits, bad timing, breakdown - Freeform, censors, cracks, cursing, dust - Freeform, loss of consciousness, misfortune, scratches, self-deprecation, so much regret, unintentional murder, unlucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-05-04 13:31:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14594085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylerSkyhigh/pseuds/SkylerSkyhigh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXUndertale_loverXx/pseuds/xXUndertale_loverXx
Summary: Horror has a really bad day and lets his anger out on poor Cross who had only wanted to help. Cross gets doubts about his own worth and decides to do something rash...





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a collab between me (xXUndertale_loverXx) and SkylerSkyhigh done in roleplay style. 
> 
> Horror, Fresh - me
> 
> Cross, Dust, Killer - Skyler
> 
> Ink - both

Horror grumbled angrily as he sat down on the couch. His day had been horrible. First he had not had any breakfast, having forgotten to take some food to his home AU. Then he had been attacked the moment he had stepped out of his house. He had won but he still had some scratches on him which were burning because of the saltwater covering him from skull to toe. Then he had made a portal to a random AU to throw anyone that could have been spying on him off. He had landed in Underfell where he had been attacked immediately. Then, when he had finally managed to get the other monster off him he had made another random portal quickly and landed in an AU filled with water and almost drowned in the cold water. Then he had made a portal to his room and so much water had followed him that everything was soaked now and then he didn't have anything to change into because everything had been soaked.

So now he was sitting on the couch, dripping everywhere but not caring one bit as he shivered from the cold.

 

Cross wandered into the living room from the hallway leading from his bedroom. The black and white skeleton had a small smile on his face as he anticipated his gang mates return. Today everyone had been super busy. Dust and Killer had a mission so they were gone the whole day. Horror had to return to his AU because his Undyne would get suspicious and because he had his Papyrus – Scream - to take care of. Nightmare had to leave suddenly because one of the Chara's needed assistance and Error had been busy. That left Cross alone in the Hideout, feeling bored and anxious. Sure, his friends would return but he couldn't help it. The separation made him extremely nervous. It reminded him of how everyone had left him.

He shook his skull to get rid of those thoughts. No. Stop living in the past. Now he had a family. He had someone. He had _someones_. They would never leave him forever like his old family did.

Cross walked into the living room and brightened up when he saw Horror on the couch. Finally, he was home! Maybe Horror would be willing to go with him and dust an AU?

Cross walked towards the bloody skeleton with a wide smile, not realizing the other's terrible mood.

"Hi Horror!"

 

Horror tensed up when he heard footsteps approach him and looked at the other immediately when he was spoken to. That was the last thing that he needed now. Cross to annoy him. He let out a low growl, glowering at the other.

"Fuck off." He growled lowly, his eye socket sparking with magic.

 

Cross flinched back in shock at the malice coming from the bigger skeleton. He paused his movements and stared at Horror, confused and slightly scared.

"H-horror? Is something wrong?" he asks tentatively. Maybe he could do something to help him.

 

"Is something wrong!" Horror shouted, pointing at his soaked clothes. The audacity! To ask that!

"Fuck off before I do something I'll regret! You are not wanted here, Cross!!!" Horror screamed angrily. He really didn't want to hurt Cross because of his miserable day but if he didn't leave right then he would do exactly that.

 

Cross winced at the harsh words at Horror's angered scream. Maybe he wasn't in the mood to talk?

Cross flinched back harshly and his eyes widened with tears in his eyes when Horror yelled at him. His Soul broke at bit at his words and he trembled.

That...that hurt. Much more than it should. Why...?

"H-Horror? P-please, tell me what's w-wrong. I-I want to h-help." Cross stuttered fearfully and shrunk into his jacket unconsciously, trying to make himself smaller. Did he do something wrong? Why was Horror mad?

 

Horror didn't even notice how hurt and anxious Cross looked, his anger doubling. Helping?!

"As if you could help me! You pathetic, useless freak! Leave me the fuck alone!!!" Horror shouted, his eye light blazing bright red in anger. He wasn't even sure who he was yelling at anymore. He only knew that they were giving his anger an outlet.

 

Cross flinched and froze in place with a fearful whine. The sight of his blazing red magic and the malice and hate filled words made his Soul go cold. Shit. H-horror...

Tears welled up in his eyes and he forced himself to turn away and run. He ran away to his room sobbing in fear and pain. He didn't look back and locked himself in his room.

He stood with his back pressed against the door, panting heavily with exertion before he choked. Tears fell down his face and he wiped them away with his sleeve but they were quickly replaced with more. Cross covered his face and slid down onto the floor sobbing, Horror's hateful words ringing in his skull like a broken recorder.

 

Horror blinked when he saw the shorter run away and was about to run after the other to get revenge but something held him back. He didn't know what but he couldn't go after the other. So he just sat on the couch, still dripping wet and stared blankly at the wall.

 

Cross wasn't sure how long he sat there and sobbed. All he knew was that his Soul hurt. His head hurt. And Horror's words were ringing in his skull repeatedly. The same hate filled words bounding off his head without losing their intensity.

_"Fuck off before I do something I'll regret! You are not wanted here, Cross!!!"_

_"As if you could help me! You pathetic, useless freak! Leave me the fuck alone!!!"_

You are not wanted here!

Useless Freak!

Pathetic!

Useless!

Worthless!

Fuck up!

Pathetic!

Cross sobbed, not noticing when his own thoughts blended into Horror's voice. With every insult, he began believing it. After all, Horror had said it to him. So it had to be true.

He sobbed harder, his Soul felt like it was breaking off into pieces. What a useless freak.

 

He should go to an AU and destroy it to prove he wasn't useless...

Horror would certainly appreciate him more then. Maybe Nightmare would even smile at him?

 

Cross flinched and he wiped away his tears, sniffing softly but not sobbing anymore. Horror had said he was useless. What would destroying an AU prove him?

 

If he destroyed an AU all by himself Horror would see that he was able to care for himself, that he was not a leech. He would have to admit that he was wrong and that Cross wasn't useless.

 

Cross' mind supplied in a devilish whisper. Maybe... But Horror hated him though. He had said that Horror didn't want him here. Why should he stay? Why should he bother Horror?

 

Horror didn't hate him. He was merely annoyed with his uselessness. And besides where could he go?

 

Cross bit his tongue in thought. Maybe...

Yeah. He should. If he managed to dust an AU; surely Horror would be proud of him! He'd forget all about his uselessness! He'd want Cross to be with him on missions since he would be able to defend himself better!

With that thought, Cross wiped away the last of his tears and stood up. He opened a portal to a random AU and pulled out his knife-like sword. He'd prove to Horror that he wasn't useless!

With determination shining in his eye lights, Cross jumped through the portal like a skeleton on a mission.

 

Ink flinched. Something was wrong in an AU. He quickly pulled up a portal of the AU where he had felt the disturbance.

Ink frowned slightly upon seeing what was happening. Error wasn't at fault this time. It also wasn't Nightmare... Who..?

Cross. Cross was destroying everything in his path, wreaking havoc all by himself. Normally he had someone with him for protection. That was his chance to finally end the other.

Ink quickly opened a portal and hopped into the AU, smirking evilly.

 

Screams and blasts rang through the air of the chaotic AU. Blasters hovered in the air threateningly, their jaws open and shooting out white beams of pure violent magic, destroying everything it hit. Monsters and humans alike flew from the destruction, some with severe injuries but no dead bodies or dust had appeared yet. Everyone was still alive, albeit in terror and very injured. Cross growled lowly in frustration.

He shot bone after bone. Knife after knife. Blaster after blaster. He shot everything he had at this dirty copy of MobTale. He destroyed all the buildings, all the flora, even the streets! He attacked all the mobsters, monsters and humans alike without mercy! And yet he. Couldn't. Kill.<i> Any of them!</i>

Something was holding him back, he was sure of it! He should be able to kill! He needed to kill! What was he worth when he couldn't kill?! No wonder Horror had called him useless. He was useless. _Useless!_

Cross gripped his skull in frustration and screamed into the sky, not knowing that he summoned a large blaster and pointed it at a random monster.

"USELESS!"

**BOOOOOM**

Cross snapped his eyes open in shock and gasped as he felt his EXP rising. It was unmistakable. The same addicting, horrifying feeling of power. The rush of magic and raw power running through him, through his Soul. It was addicting. His head was rushing. It was **disgusting**.

He lowered his skull slowly with his eye lights tiny pinpricks full of shock and terror. Maybe.... maybe he had imagined that...? Maybe.... maybe he hadn't-?

His Soul stopped at the sight that greeted him. A pile of dust.

His mind stopped as tears gathered in his eyes. He-. He had k-killed someone. He... he'd done it…

But... why did it feel so... SO _AWFUL_?!

Cross grabbed his skull tightly as his eye lights shrunk even more. He had killed someone. He had killed someone. He had killed someone. He had killed a monster.

It was disgusting. It was horrible. It wasn't amazing. It wasn't great. IT FELT AWFUL.

OH STARS WAS NO BETTER THAN CHARA! WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM?! THIS WASN'T WHAT HE WANTED! _THIS WASN'T WHAT HE WANTED! TAKE IT BACK! IF HE COULD HE'D TAKE IT BACK!! PLEASE TAKE IT BACK!!!_

 

Ink stared at Cross in shock when he fired a blaster at a monster. They immediately crumbled to dust, not even having time to scream in pain. Cross had never killed someone before. Before that kill he had been the one of the group that had been the weakest. Never outside without another, without a bodyguard. That had changed with that action. If Cross had killed someone he'd do it again.

Ink got out his paint brush and slowly sneaked up on the distracted looking skeleton, raising it high to strike at the other.

 

Cross' mind was fuzzy, his eyes going distant as all he could see was dust. So much dust. It was everywhere. He had done that. He had killed them. He had dust on his hands. Dust on his Soul. Dust everywhere. His mind felt fuzzy and his knees weak with panic.

He felt magical bile build up in his throat, threatening to escape. His whole body felt numb. His senses blurred. All he could think about was the monster dying. All he could see is dust.

He was horrible. He was disgusting. He was terrible. He didn't want this. He didn't want this! Take it back! Please take it back! He hadn't mean to! He hadn't meant it! Please!! _I'm sorry!!!_

His Soul felt constricted. His chest heavy. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He was dying. He was going to follow that monster. He was dying. It was what he deserved for being a **dirty killer**. 

He never noticed the malice coming behind up. Not until it was too late as his skull exploded in pain and he was thrown aside with a 'crack'.

 

Fresh jumped into an AU for no apparent reason. Did he really need a reason for anything? No he didn't. It just seemed the right thing to do so he jumped into that AU. He was shocked by the state of the Mobtale AU.

Wow. Who had done this?

Fresh's eye sockets widened behind his glasses as he saw two lone figures. Cross was standing in the midst of all the destruction, his magic slowly fading as he stared at a pile of dust, obviously panicking. Ink stood behind him, his paint brush raised and whacked him upside his skull. A sickening crunch rang out and Fresh wasted no time to run over to the two, summoning his magic.

 

Cross heard the pain before he felt it. Though did a numb ringing count as feeling?

He winced and his vision blurred into an array of shapes and colours. But he could see a collection of colours that sent a chill down his spine.

Ink.

Shit Shit Shit!

Cross quickly tried to summon a blaster but it was weak and easily batted away by the blurred shape that he now knew was Ink. He tried summoning bones but no sound came meaning he had missed or that Ink had dodged his weak attempt at defending himself.

He tried to stand up but he was quickly thrown back down by the blur of colours.

He didn't get up again. He couldn't. His legs felt weak and his mind was a haze. But he could feel pain through that haze. Lots of it.

It was everywhere and it didn't stop. He heard someone screaming. It could be him or someone else. He didn't know. All he knew was that he was dying. His vision began to turn black on the edges and he went under. At least, his death would show that he had at least tried.

 

Fresh quickly summoned a blaster and fired it at Ink, running to Cross who seemed to be loosing the fight to stay conscious. He stood in front of Cross and quickly picked the shorter skeleton up, trying to be gentle about it but he needed to get out of there before Ink could get to them. He gasped in pain as he hastily opened a portal to a random AU and jumped through, planning to make a portal there to get to Nightmare's hideout.

 

Ink had to admit, Cross had been so easy to hit being so distracted. One hit to the skull had him dazed and unable to fight back. His blaster was easy to destroy and his bones missed their target. It seemed like the smaller skeleton was confused and weakened, pitiful really. Ink had to hurry though. Cross could be able to gain his bearings and attack and then he'd escape, adding another dangerous skeleton to the list. Now that he has shown to be capable of killing, Ink couldn't risk it. He had a job protecting his creation. One less monster meant that fewer AUs would be destroyed.

The Creator stepped in front of the other, the latter having trouble locating Ink's position. Probably due to the headache he had given the other. Ink pushed down his sympathy, it had to be done. Ink raised his brush high over the skeleton to get a hit, his acidic paint like magic at the end of his brush ready to strike.

He jumped backwards however when he felt a strong build-up of energy. Just in time too. A bright blast shot in front of him, getting between him and Cross. He growled as he waited for the blast to end. Whoever it was would not stand in the way.

He growled in frustration when the blast ended and there was no one in sight. A colourful portal closing not too far from him. He clenched his hand on his brush in frustration. Whoever it was that took Cross couldn't have gotten far. He'd find them. Cross was dangerous now. More so than ever.

But for now, he had to focus on fixing this AU. He'd find Cross soon. And next time, he wouldn't be so lucky.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Fresh landed on the snow covered ground of an AU. He checked the other skeleton in his arms. Cross was bleeding from a crack on his skull. His white shirt now had a red spot on it and it was spreading.

_Shoot! Cross is gravely injured! He needs to get back to Nightmare's hideout fast!_

He opened another portal, straight to Nightmare's hideout and jumped through. Funk it! He was not letting his friend die!

 

Fresh carried Cross through the portal, stepping into the living room of Nightmare's and his gang's hideout. Horror was still sitting on the couch, staring at the wall. He turned to the newcomer, ready to tell Cross to fuck off when he spotted Fresh carrying said skeleton whose skull was pretty banged up, his whole body in fact.

Horror's face twisted into guilt. This was his fault, wasn't it? Fuck... He stood up, rushing over to Fresh and Cross worriedly.

Fresh saw the guilty look in Horror's face. The other was dripping wet and looking way too guilty to not be involved in this mess. He pushed past Horror, carrying Cross to his room, ignoring the hurt look Horror had on his face. His arm was aching too much for him to think about it.

 

Killer poked around the kitchen with concerned eyes. He looked under the cabinets. He looked under the sink. He even checked the fridge! But he found nothing.

He stood up straight and huffed in frustration. That ruled out the kitchen.

"Dust!" he hollered loudly. "He's not here! Got any luck?!"

"Cross isn't in the training room either." Dust said as he stomped into the kitchen with an annoyed look on his face. But it was clear that he was more concerned than annoyed.

"Where could he be?" Killer asked, his worry and frustration growing. Cross was supposed to be here by now. The kid almost never left on his own. He was always here. To come back front a mission and see him missing was a concern. Especially when they asked Horror about it who was too pissed to answer anything. Bad day Killer assumed.

"Stars dammit. [Funk]"

They both froze when Dust's curse was censored. That could mean one thing.

Both skeletons turned towards the living room to try and find the skeleton. Maybe Fresh could help find Cross. Somehow he could find any skeleton easily. They knew better than to ask how by then.

"Fresh!!!"

 

Fresh looked over to the kitchen when he heard someone call his name.

"Could ya help a bro?" Fresh asked, nodding at the unconscious Cross in his arms. He had no idea where they kept their healing gel and Cross was kind of heavy after a while. Especially when his arm hurt.

 

Both skeletons stopped in their tracks in shock, their eyes now empty sockets. Cross... well, Fresh did find Cross. But... not in the shape they had been expecting.

Their eyes returned but held a cold, steely edge to them. Restrained anger flickered in their eyes as they stalked towards the two skeletons.

"Follow me. We'll put Cross in my room for now." Killer explained as he walked past them to lead them to his bedroom. His bed was big enough for Cross. Besides, he could sleep on the couch or not sleep at all to make sure Cross was safe. He also had healing gel ready in his drawer and a first aid kit too. He also had a bit full HP food hidden under his bed. His job often required patch-ups so he knew to keep some healing items at the ready. It seemed that it was more useful than he thought.

"Show me where the [duck]-er is at!" Dust screamed. "I'll tear him to [bucking] pieces!" the dusty skeleton ignored the censorship Fresh did. He knew by then not to ask for the other to stop.

 

Fresh nodded, following Killer. He stumbled slightly as he got dizzy for a second but managed to catch himself without alerting any of the other skeletons.

Killer surely had some healing items to patch Cross up but they should really get some clothes from his room for him. His clothes were torn and slightly bloodied, probably not something the other would want to wake up in.

"Ink." Fresh responded to Dust's angry rant. He knew better than to wait to tell the angry skeleton who did that to Cross.

 

Dust choked in shock while Killer's eyes narrowed in anger. Of course. Of course it was that insane Creator. Why wouldn't it be?

Killer took deep long breaths to calm himself. Soon. Soon he'd report this to Nightmare and then dust a dozen AUs as payback. Maybe he would even put a little note on the buildings to show that they meant business. No... That wasn't enough. Killer would count first. Count all the bruises, scratches and scars on Cross and then he would destroy that amount of AUs. An eye for an eye. He was sure Nightmare would gladly allow him. Maybe he'd even join in.

Dust's hands twitched as a manic grin took over his face. His hands itching for his knife and to go give that damn Creator a piece of his mind. Oh when he got his hands on Ink, the things he'd do... Oh~ he'd have a MAD TIME.

Killer opened the door of his bedroom and stepped inside. He went over to his drawer and pulled out some healing gel and a first aid kit.

"Just set him on the bed. Dust go grab some towels and a bucket of warm water alongside his clothes. Comfortable ones." Killer ordered as he put the items on the table.

Dust nodded and walked off to get those items. Later. He'd get revenge on Ink later. Right then his best friend needed him.

 

Fresh set Cross down on Killer's bed, being uncharacteristically quiet. He couldn't believe that Ink could have done this to Cross. Cross was the most innocent of the whole gang and still Ink had hurt him. Killer and Dust were extremely angry. He could understand that but now they had to focus on getting Cross to feel better.

Horror had followed them and was standing in the doorway, not able to choose whether he should go inside or go away. The things he had said to Cross... He'd never be able to forgive himself... So he just stood there in the doorway like a cat that couldn't decide whether it wanted outside or not.

 

Killer heard Horror shuffling near the door and turned around. The other looked hesitant- guiltily so. Killer's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Maybe Horror had something to do with Cross?

Never mind. Whatever it was could be addressed later. Never jump to conclusions. The Light Sanses had that front covered. He needed to act mature. They needed him to be. At least for now.

"Horror, you're wet. Go change first or you'll get a cold." Killer said calmly towards the soaking wet skeleton. He'd have to talk to Horror later. But not now. Now he had to focus on Cross.

 

Horror flinched slightly when the other addressed him, looking to the floor.

"Can't. All my stuff is soaked..." Horror muttered, scratching the hole in his skull nervously. He had nothing to change into. His whole room was wet because of that stupid AU filled with water.

Fresh looked over to Horror. He seemed extremely guilty and he really wanted to ask the other why the heck he looked like that but there were more important matters to address. He looked back down at Cross, feeling quite guilty himself. This wouldn't have happened if he had struck Ink down the moment he had gotten into the AU.

 

Killer saw the action and rushed towards him immediately. His hand gripped the hand that was scratching the hole firmly yet gently.

"Horror stop it. It'll just hurt more." Killer scolded lightly. He knew the action was a nervous habit. One that was still a work in progress to get rid of. He understood it, truly. He had the same self-harming problem. But it'd just do more harm than good. Not to mention the area he was picking at was his skull, a very sensitive spot. It was almost as bad as clawing your ribs to get to your Soul.

"I have some loose sweaters that'll fit you. You can change into those." Killer said and walked over to his closet, ignoring the other's protest. He had these clothes because when he first went 'shopping', he didn't know his size and got a few sweaters too big for him. It also didn't help that they were on a time crunch because Ink was there so he grabbed whatever clothes he saw at random. But it would fit Horror's large build perfectly.

He pulled out a large grey long sleeved turtleneck a few sizes too big for him. The sweater was plain except for a few decorative holes near the collar and the sleeves. It'd do. He also pulled out a pair of loose shorts and headed to the taller skeleton, giving him the clothes.

"Go change and stay in the living room." he said and leaned close to whisper at the bloody skeleton. "We need to talk."

With that, Killer turned around and walked over to Cross lying on the bed. He listened to Horror's retreating footsteps and another pair of footsteps coming closer. He turned and saw Dust with the bucket, towels and Cross' clothes.

"Perfect." Killer brightened up and took the bucket of water and the towels. "Fresh, help him out of those clothes. Dust, help me clean his wounds."

Dust nodded wordlessly, his mind deep in thought. He saw what had happened between Killer and Horror. He was not sure what Horror did to have that expression on his face but he was sure Killer could handle it.

 

Horror immediately stopped scratching, noticing only then that he had been doing it in the first place.

When Killer gave him some clothes he took them with a thankful expression that quickly twisted into guilt again. He honestly wanted to cry. Here he did the worst thing possible and Killer still helped him. He didn't deserve that. He flinched when Killer said they needed to talk but nodded to show he understood and went to one of the bathrooms to change.

Fresh nodded silently, taking off Cross' jacket and shirt. Man his clothes were complicated. How could the other put them on so quickly? Practise? Cross' weird clothes confused him more than anything else. He'd have to ask Cross why he wore such complicated clothing.

 

Once Cross' clothes were removed- with their help because Cross had some complicated clothes. How did he do it? Practice???- Killer and Dust began to get to work on cleaning his injuries.

Killer grabbed a towel and dipped it in the warm water before ringing it out. Good thing Dust grabbed a lot of towels. They might need a clean one to dry him off before they could dress him. Dust turned towards Fresh who held Cross' dirty clothes.

"Just put them anywhere. I'll clean and fix them later." Dust said and began dipping his towel in the water. Okay he was not amazing at stitching like Error or even Cross himself but he knew a thing or two about fixing clothes. Especially ones that were gained from battle. He'd make Cross' clothes look like there was nothing wrong.

Killer began wiping away the blood on Cross' bones starting from his skull. He hissed at the scratches and cracks on the white bone, silently fuming at the sight. Ink was going to pay for hurting his brother. He was going to **pay**.

Dust wasn't too far behind as he cleaned Cross' injured ribs. It wasn't too terrible. But mostly it was because the blood had stopped flowing. Once the ribs and skull were done, both skeletons continued onto his arms and legs. They made sure there was not a drop of blood or a speck of dirt on the younger. Once the blood was cleaned off, Dust could clearly see the cracks and bruises on the white bone. It made him want to go on a rampage all the more.

Dust looked over to Killer who was already picking up the healing gel. Dust walked over and took the jar from the other.

"Hey." Killer started to protest but was cut off by Dust.

"Go talk to Horror. Me and Fresh can do the rest." Dust said. Killer wanted to refuse but he sighed.

"Alright. There's some healing food under my bed. Give it to Cross when he wakes up, okay?" Killer said as he walked over to the door.

"Don't worry. Just find out what's bothering the little [sheep]."

Killer snorted at the choice of censorship and nodded before walking towards the living room. He and Horror needed to have a talk. Maybe he'd find out why Horror had looked so guilty.

 

Horror sat on the couch in the living room, shifting uncomfortably. This was all his fault. He had been so extremely angry. He couldn't even remember everything he had said to Cross and had no idea how he had reacted but the things he could remember were too awful to think about. All he wanted to do was apologise to Cross but the other had been beaten to unconsciousness because of him. He was awful...

Horror had to sit on his hands to avoid scratching himself anywhere. He didn't deserve the distraction anyways. How could he have done something like that just because he had a bad day?!!!!

Horror snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps. They were heading into his direction. All he wanted to do was hide...

 

Killer walked towards the living room where he could see Horror sitting on the couch with his hands under him. The bloody skeleton looking very anxious and guilty. Killer sighed and walked over to him until he was next to the couch. Honestly, he dreaded this talk. Whatever Horror had been guilty about had to involve Cross in one way or another. And Killer was afraid that Horror was the reason for Cross getting hurt. But why? Why was he guilty? What had he done? What did it have to do with Cross?

Well, he was going to get an answer soon.

Killer sat down on a single couch staring at Horror with a calm face. There was no need to distress the skeleton more than he was now. The elder crossed his arms and stared at Horror's guilty face.

Killer spoke calmly, the purpose of this conversation was to know what happened, not to point fingers. "Alright... explain. From the beginning."

 

Horror flinched when he saw Killer walk into the room calmly, feeling like this was going to be his funeral. Fuck... The other looked too damn calm for this... It honestly scared him way more than if he were angry at him.

Horror's eye lights shrunk to tiny pinpricks as he stared at the wall. Should he really start at the beginning?

"W-well..." He started, cursing himself for his anxious stuttering.

"In the morning when I tried to make myself breakfast I noticed we didn't have any food anymore so I was pretty pissed..." Horror explained, remembering how mad at himself he had been when he had noticed there wasn't anything left. The hunger pains had almost immediately set in and he had almost had a panic attack.

"Then I wanted to go outside to make a portal but I was ambushed the second I set foot outside. I had to dust the monster and that just made me more angry..." He recounted, his eye lights narrowing as he remembered the screaming the other had done, waking up his little brother.

"Then I made that portal to a random AU to throw anyone who could be spying on me off. I landed in an Underfell copy where I got attacked by some random monster which just added to my anger. By the time I got them dusted someone could have noticed me so I made another portal to a random AU." Horror went on, sighing annoyedly.

"I landed in an AU full of water which soaked my clothes and then I nearly drowned until I managed to make a portal to my room. A lot of water followed me, trashing my whole room." Horror explained.

"I was done with the whole world by then, water in my skull and there was this weird little fish in there too, agitating my magic and it hurt pretty damn much. Then I went to the couch and sat down when I got finally rid of the fish. I was still soaked, angry and really just wanted some peace and quiet for once when Cross came along..." Horror sighed, taking a deep breath. Killer surely would kill him for what he had to say next.

"I was extremely angry at him even though he just wanted to help and told him to [tuck] off before I did something I'd regret. He didn't and I did...." Horror explained, sighing again.

"I don't know what exactly I said but he looked pretty close to crying and ran off..." Horror finished, looking incredibly guilty.

 

Killer watched calmly as Horror explained from the beginning. While he was mostly unresponsive, he did sigh from time to time at a few intervals. Then Killer had to rub his skull at a forming headache when Horror explained what he had said to Cross. Killer didn't know what he said after but if it was enough to make Cross cry then it had to be serious. He'd have to talk to Cross after this to find out what happened. Horror...

Killer pinched the bridge of his nasal bone with closed eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He opened his eyes where two tiny pinpricks laid in his dark eye sockets. He looked calmer than he felt. Though he felt more annoyed than angry.

"Horror, you... You messed up." Killer opted to say. He wanted to be seen as serious. That won't happen if his words were replaced with silly censors courtesy of Fresh.

"You messed up big time and what you said seemed to really affect our brother." Killer spoke seriously, staring straight into Horror's guilty gaze. He sighed softly. "But... I'm not saying you can't show emotions. You can, you're allowed to feel and show your emotions just as any monster. You aren't at fault for that. While you did snap at Cross, you feel bad about it and that's fine. All you have to do is talk to Cross and beg for his forgiveness. Trust me, it won't take a lot."

"You didn't mean what you said. You were just angry and snapped at the wrong person which caused some bad things to happen. That's okay. You made a mistake, you're allowed to make mistakes. You just have to learn from that mistake and fix it." Killer smiled gently at the shocked look on Horror's face. "You're allowed to feel emotions Horror, like all of us. You're allowed to show them. Maybe this time it came out at the wrong time and the wrong place but that can be fixed. The question is... are you willing to fix it? And will you do it again?"

 

Horror flinched when Killer spoke up. He would most likely throw him out. He could understand that. He did mess up. Really, really badly. He had hurt Cross and even though he did not mean it, it didn't matter in the end...

Horror winced. His eye sockets widened in shock at what Killer was saying. He stared at the other, shocked at what he was hearing. He really needed to apologise. He looked about ready to jump up and beg for Cross' forgiveness when he remembered that the other was still unconscious. Because of him. He felt horrible. He really was sorry...

"I... I wanna fix my mis-mistakes and I won't do it again... E-even if I have to lock myself into my r-room..." Horror stammered, looking really damn near to crying. He'd do anything to keep his brother safe.

 

"Hey hey..." Killer said softly and stood up, his eyes showing great concern. He walked over and hushed the other softly. Horror was damn near tears. They didn't need to resort to such ways. That was just destructive all on its own. That and Horror still had the tendency to scratch at his skull. Killer was not risking Horror coming out and the hole on his skull bleeding again. The first time it had happened had nearly set Nightmare off. It was the first time they found out about Horror's bad habit. But with time, hopefully it'd stop. With time.

"Shh... we don't need to resort to that. Just come to one of us when you feel upset. A little sparring would get that anger out quickly." Killer winked, a little reminder of their spar a while ago. It was a good bet to be honest. It was funny seeing Ink's face when Horror came up and pecked his cheek because he lost that bet. That face was hilarious. Even if Horror shoved him onto his ass for laughing to tears.

 

Horror sniffled quietly, trying to force down his tears. It shocked him that Killer seemed so concerned. He didn't deserve it...

The idea of sparring was quite smart. He should have done that from the beginning instead of letting out his anger on Cross.

 

"Hey..." Killer came closer and wrapped the other in a hug. Horror was distressed. It was clear how affected he was by this. He needed him.

"Shh... it's okay. Just let it out. You'll... you'll feel better." Killer said feeling a little off. Comforting wasn't his speciality. But he'd try his best to help Horror. Once Cross woke up, Horror needed to apologize. But not in this state. He wouldn't get his apology right if he faced Cross like this. "Just let it out."

 

Horror flinched visibly when Killer hugged him, thinking he had finally let his anger through and would... No. Killer wouldn't hurt him. He still tensed at being hugged. He started trembling at the other's words, starting to sob quietly as tears rolled down his cheek bones.

Even though Killer seemed a bit awkward Horror highly appreciated the comfort.

 

"That's it. Just let it out." Killer said softly near Horror's skull. He used one hand to rub Horror's spine up and down gently, like how the other Papyruses would do to their Sanses. He used his other hand to cradle Horror's skull and gently push it towards his shoulder. A shoulder to cry on. Huh. Now he got the term. Hopefully this would work on Horror.

 

Horror hugged Killer tightly, sobbing. He felt so horrible but this was definitely helping to get rid of the negative emotions he was feeling.

"S-sorry..." Horror choked out. He didn't even know why he was apologising to Killer. He should apologise to Cross. He was useless. He should go to Cross. He stayed anyways, trying to ignore that nagging voice in the back of his mind.

 

"Shh... there's nothing wrong with showing emotions Horror. Though you should save that sorry for Cross." Killer said as he embraced Horror. He waited until Horror was stable enough in controlling his emotions. Letting out pent up sadness and anger felt great once it was all said and done. He should know.

Nightmare had helped him with his issues with emotions.

 

Horror sniffled quietly once he calmed down and pulled back, wiping his cheek bones dry. Fuck. He really should apologise to Cross. He did have to admit he felt a lot better now.

"Th-thanks…" Horror thanked the other, looking down at his lap in thought. He felt the urge to scratch at his skull again but held back.

 

Killer let go when Horror released him. Hopefully Horror felt better after that. He does look better than before so that was a plus. He was obviously still upset but calmer, calm enough to go talk to Cross.

"No problem." he replied with a smile. "Now, let's go see Cro-"

"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Both skeletons froze at the scream. That was Cross' voice.

They didn't waste any time as both skeletons rushed back towards Killer's room. Oh stars what had happened?! Was Cross hurt?! Were they being attacked?! What was wrong?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
> 
> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where had that scream come from...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horror, Fresh - X
> 
> Cross, Dust, Killer - Skyler
> 
> Edit - X
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy! ^^

\--------(Earlier)----------

Dust took the cap off the healing gel and scooped a generous amount, using three of his fingers. Kneeling beside the bed next to Cross, he began to apply the healing gel onto Cross injuries, starting from his skull- taking note on how many cracks, bruises and cuts there were. Each one sent a bolt of anger through him but he pushed it down. Right now Cross needed medical attention.

The dusty skeleton looked over to Fresh who was sitting on the end of the bed looking silent. Dust couldn't really tell what he was feeling due to his shades but the way the shades themselves were blank and empty of their usual words, he could assume that Fresh was thinking.

Dust turned back towards Cross as he scooped up some more gel. "Why are you so quiet? Usually you'd have something to say." he pointed out softly, not wanting to anger the monster. Not that it would be easy to anger him but right now, he was not taking any chances.

 

Fresh stared at the wall blankly, being unusually quiet. He was thinking. He should have been faster to help Cross. Maybe he could've prevented all of this…

Fresh winced slightly when Dust addressed him.

"I'm mad at myself because if I would have been faster this wouldn't have happened." Fresh explained bluntly. There was no use lying after all.

 

Dust looked at him with slightly widened sockets. Fresh... not fast enough? Him... not fast enough? Not fast enough to save Cross?

"Bull-[shoes]." Dust said with narrowed eyes sockets.

 

Fresh frowned slightly.

"It's true, bruh..." Fresh sighed. "Coulda stopped that Inky if I were fast enough." He explained.

 

Dust's mouth turned into a firm frown as he listened to the self-deprecating words from the skeleton. He applied another scoop of gel onto Cross' ribs and arms as he spoke.

"If you hadn't come at all Cross would be dead." It had to be true. Ink wouldn't deal this kind of damage if it wasn't with the intent to kill. He'd seen Ink fight Error before. He knew the injuries it came with.

"What happened anyway?" he asked while glancing over at the fresh skeleton.

 

Fresh flinched slightly, ready to retaliate when Dust spoke up again.

"I don't know everything, my bruh but Cross was really distracted and a real mad Ink hit him when he wasn't looking, yo. Totally unrad if you ask me." Fresh explained.

 

That sounded worrying.

"Distracted? Cross was distracted?" Dust asked with a raised brow as he wiped away the gel from his fingers with a towel. Cross almost never gets distracted. At least, not as severe as to not notice a hostile intent.

The youngest was pretty observant and aware of his surroundings despite what people assumed. He was in tune with others' intent and emotions. His awareness would be very useful in battle to anticipate attacks if Cross were to engage in a fight. It was how Cross beat him at sparring before. He was strong, he just held back. More often than not, being caught off guard was his downfall most of the time, not being used to being around people or used to situations that require his attention and quick thinking. But they were fixing that by dragging him to missions and sparring with him. But hearing Cross getting distracted was worrying.

 

"Yeah. Poor bro was just staring onto the floor, eyes all glazy and stuff. Dunno what happened to ma little bro." Fresh explained, thinking back. Cross had been staring at the ground. No. He had been staring at something else. Something on the ground. A pile of dust.

"Wait a smol moment! He was staring at a dust pile!" Fresh remembered.

 

Dust's Soul stopped at that information.

A pile... of dust?

Dust.

Monster dust.

That meant...

"He killed a monster." Dust said in realisation, horror creeping into his Soul and sent a chill down his spine. Poor Cross. Dust could only imagine the trauma of that.

 

"Wh-what?!!!" Fresh asked, his glasses changing to question marks and exclamation marks. Cross? The Cross who was the most innocent skeleton out of all of them? Who got upset when someone killed a spider? That Cross?!!! He couldn't believe it? What had driven Cross to do...?! Horror. Horror had something to do with it.

"I-I think Horror has something to do with it..." Fresh said, dropping his tick completely at the dire situation.

 

Dust's eyes narrowed at the skeleton, a roll of gauze in his hand.

"How so?" he asked the bright skeleton. He suspected it but then again, whatever Horror did could be indirectly since even he knew how Cross hated death. Killing in general. The chances of Horror forcing Cross to kill... no. Horror would never do that. It had to have been indirectly.

 

"Maybe Horror said something to Cross that made him super angry and it was an accident because he wasn't aware of his surroundings." Fresh suggested. He sighed, knowing that Cross would definitely not be happy once he woke up...

Fresh took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets, feeling a headache start to form. He couldn't see all too well with his sunglasses on in the dimly lit room.

 

"Cross getting angry at Horror?" Dust said with a raised brow. His eyes focused on Fresh but his hands were busy with wrapping Cross' injuries. He hid his surprise when Fresh took off his shades, revealing his beautiful eyes. One eye was normal while the other was an upside down heart. A small hint of purple smoke escaping the eye sockets. Dust would never understand why everyone hated Fresh's eyes- to the point where he was self-conscious about them. In his eyes, they were beautiful. Stunning even. Maybe one day Fresh would realize that and start showing his eyes more. One day maybe Fresh would be willing to let them help him. But that was going to take a while and Dust was willing to wait.

He shook his skull in denial at Fresh's theory. "Cross wouldn't have dusted a monster because he's angry. I've seen him angry. Murderous isn't what I would say. Vengeful yes, murderous? Not so much."

Cross got angry yes, but not really at the level of killing someone. Something must have happened that really set him off. But what? What did Horror have to do with this? Dust rubbed his skull at the headache. This wasn't going anywhere. They'd have to wait for Cross to wake up before they knew for sure what happened. Maybe it was an accident but What caused it was the question.

 

"Now that you say it like that, bruh it doesn't make any sense..." Fresh admitted, rubbing his eye sockets once more. He couldn't help but try to cover them. They looked extremely uncool after all. He felt tired too, a yawn escaping him. He felt so exhausted…

 

Dust noticed the way his hand tried to cover the sockets and frowned. Fresh might not be in their group, but he was their friend. Whichever bitch tried to mess with him meant messing with all of them.

Dust began dressing Cross in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a loose light blue sweater with dark blue sleeves while addressing Fresh. "When did you sleep last?"

 

Fresh watched Dust, trying to concentrate on something other than his exhaustion. He blinked when he realised he had been talked to, trying to remember what Dust had said to him. Nothing. He only came up with blanks, the headache that was pounding away at his skull making his mind and thought process hazy.

"Whut?" Fresh asked, trying to mask how tired he was now that all the adrenaline had faded. He should eat something too...

 

Dust sighed and stood up, having just finished dressing Cross. Yes, Fresh took that long to answer. Now he knew the bright skeleton was tired.

Dust turned around to face him. "Okay, you're sleeping here tonight Fresh. You look half dead and as skeletons that's saying a lot." He scolded the other, not noticing Cross eye lids twitching.

 

"Hm?" Fresh mumbled, rubbing his eye sockets tiredly. He looked like he wanted to protest but nodded after a second.

"Fine." Fresh agreed, not noticing how Cross seemed to be waking up.

 

"Good." Dust said, too distracted with Fresh to realize how Cross' eyes snapped open with tiny pinpricks in the dark sockets.

"We have a guest room-"

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Dust jumped at the scream and spun around, his eye lights shrinking. Cross sat on the bed hunched over, his legs tucked to his ribs and his skull in his hands. There was a glazed look in his eyes, like he was not seeing anything. Like he was not aware.

Oh stars, Dust could see Cross' hyperventilating and trembling. What the hell happened?!

Killer rushed into the room by swinging himself in by with the doorway. "What happened?!"

 

Fresh flinched hard at the scream, staring at the source of it. Cross was visibly panicking and shaking and oh stars was he okay?!

He took a step closer, trying to see whether he could do anything to help but he felt completely sapped of his strength.

Horror ran after Killer, arriving just a few seconds later. Damn the other could be fast... What-?

 

Killer examined the scene before him. Two dumbfounded and shocked skeletons- one looking ready to pass out and another looking lost. Cross was on the bed in a panic attack, looking too dazed to be aware of anything. He heard Horror run in behind him and he saw Fresh step forward. Stars this wasn't good. Where was Nightmare when they needed him?!

Guess it was up to him to try and fix this.

"Dust, get Fresh out of here, he looks ready to pass out! Horror, stay behind me and don't make any sudden movements. I'll try to approach Cross." he commanded, the best solution he could come up with.

Dust wanted to object but he nodded. The other knew what he was doing and Fresh wasn't stable enough for this. He'd find out what was wrong with Fresh in the guest room while Killer sorted this thing out.

Without another word, he picked up the brightly dressed skeleton and speed walked out of the room. Killer could handle this. Hopefully.

 

Fresh yelped as he was picked up, nearly dropping his glasses. He managed to hold onto them, his reflexes much slower than they normally were. He really wanted to help Cross but it seemed Killer had everything handled so he just relaxed into Dust's hold slightly, closing his weird looking eyes.

Horror nodded, taking a small step back. Killer knew what to do. ... Hopefully...

 

Killer stepped forward slowly, trying not to distress the panicked skeleton any more.

"Cross? Cross, can you hear me?" he asked softly, hoping the other would answer.

Cross was panicking. His eyes were tiny and his breathing shallow. His hands gripping his skull almost painfully as silent tears streamed down his face. But he could only see dust. Dust caused by him. He had killed someone. He had killed them. He had killed them without mercy oh stars what kind of monster was he?!

Killer frowned and stepped closer, standing beside the bed with his hands up. Ready to help the other in any way.

"Hey hey, breathe. In and out. Come on, follow me. In... out. In... out." Killer slowed his breathing with each word, hopefully guiding Cross to breathe with him.

After a few moments of comforting words, Cross heard him and followed his breathing pattern. Taking deep breaths in and out slowly. Still shaking but now calming down. He silently thanked Nightmare for all the times he had helped Killer with his attacks.

"That's it. You're doing great. You're doing amazing. Just keep following me. In...and out. In...and out."

 

Horror watched from the door how Killer managed to calm Cross down. It honestly reminded him of Nightmare and how he would help with his panic attacks. As soon as Cross was calm enough he would apologise immediately.

 

Killer smiled a bit when Cross began to calm down. "Shh... you're doing great. Good job Cross. Good job." he said encouragingly.

His hands hovered hesitantly towards Cross but stopped before touching him. "Cross? Can I touch you?"

Cross shook his skull and tightened into a trembling ball on the bed, clearly still distraught over something.

"Okay, I won't touch you. Cross? Do you want to tell me anything? What happened?" Killer asked softly, both wanting to know the answer and to not scare the skeleton anymore.

 

Horror watched worriedly from the doorway. This was all his fault. He averted his gaze to stare at the wall, guilt eating him alive. He was so horrible.

 

Cross whimpered as he shook. His eyes clenched shut as tears escaped them, streaming down his face. Killer was about to speak- trying to calm the upset skeleton- when Cross spoke in a small terrified voice.

"I-I killed them. I killed s-someone." he whimpered while Killer gasped in shock. That was why he was so upset.

"Cross... Cross it's okay." Killer said trying to help him but Cross screamed.

"NO! No it is not okay! I killed someone! I killed a monster! I'm no better than him! No better than Gaster! No better! I'm a killer! Dust on my hands! I-!"

"Cross please calm down!" Killer interrupted before he could panic more. Stars this was bad. Cross never killed. He hated killing. It reminded him of his dead world. How Gaster erased it without mercy. It was something Cross feared. That he'd turn out the same way.

"Cross please, it's okay. You're not like him. You're not like Gaster. You aren't. Whatever happened must have been an accident. You didn't mean to kill them did you?"

"No! Of course not!" Cross sobbed out, looking at Killer with small eye lights.

"See? You didn't mean to kill them. It was an accident." Killer smiled softly at him while Cross sniffed. "Hey, it's okay. It's alright."

"B-but...I killed s-someone." Cross hiccupped softly while wiping away tears. "I-I'm horrible. Dirty. Horrible k-killer-"

"So? We're all killers." Killer interrupted gently. "Horror has killed. Dust has killed. Heck my name is Killer. We all have dust on our hands. Everyone but you."

"I..."

"You're okay Cross. You're alright. You're alright. Can I hug you?"

Cross sniffed and nodded shyly. Killer smiled and embraced the other, letting him cry on his shoulder.

 

Horror stared at Cross in shock when his words registered. He didn't make the tiniest sound. Cross... Sweet Cross who would never hurt anyone, who got upset when someone killed an insect that had managed to get inside, had killed someone...

It was all his fault. This was all his fault. It was his fault Cross had killed someone. It was his fault Cross was panicking and screaming and he couldn't take it he had hurt the other so bad he was horrible ohstarsohstars!!! Horror backed away, walking into the hallway. He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, curling into a small ball, shivering slightly. Why had he done that? Why didn't he go to Nightmare?

 

It took a while for Cross to calm down and when he did he released Killer with a sniff. He wiped away his tears as he stared at the ground shamefully. "I'm sorry."

Killer shook his skull at his words. "No, you don't have to be sorry Cross. You don't have to be sorry about this."

"B-but-"

"Look, it was an accident okay? You didn't mean to and you're clearly upset by it. Others won't even bat an eye. You're not a killer Cross, okay?"

"I- I. O-okay." Cross relented with a tiny nod.

"Good. What happened Cross?" Killer asked softly.

Cross sniffed before he explained what had happened.

 

Horror stayed curled up on the floor, his mind being battered by self-loathing thoughts. He'd do anything to make this right. He had to apologise but he would break down into tears if he did it right then. He should wait until Cross came outside, if he would even do that. He was sure the other didn't want to see him.

 

While Cross explained, Killer nodded as he listened. He didn't speak as Cross told his side of the story, still a little upset but thankfully, not at Horror.

Once it ended, Killer nods. "Alright. I understand. I talked to Horror earlier."

"Y-you did?" Cross asked fearfully.

"Yeah. He's upset but not at you. At himself. He didn't mean anything he said. He just had a bad day and snapped at the wrong time." Killer explained, recalling how guilty Horror looked the whole explanation.

"I- he's right. I am useless." Cross said dejectedly.

"No you're not. If you said that to Horror he'd deny it 'cause you aren't useless. He didn't mean anything he said. In fact, he feels guilty for saying all those things."

"H-he does?" Cross asked, confused and surprised.

Killer nodded. "Yes. And he wants to apologize. For saying those things to you."

"I-" Cross sniffed at what he heard. Horror felt guilty? So... he didn't mean what he said. That was... a relief to him. It meant Horror didn't hate him.

"Though the question remains. Will you forgive him? Or do you hate him now?" Killer asked, nipping this right at the bud.

"O-of course! I would never hate Horror!" Cross denied. Horror was his friend. One mistake wasn't going to change that.

Killer smiled at the answer. He knew Cross would forgive Horror. Though he had to be sure.

"Good." he said and stood up. "Let's go to Horror okay?"

Killer knew Horror had left the room a while ago. Probably due to being overwhelmed with guilt. But that could be fixed. If Horror could apologize properly though.

Cross nodded and followed the elder. He has to find Horror and fast! He turned to the doorway and saw said skeleton on the floor shaking in a ball. Oh stars. It was worse than he thought.

Killer let Cross walk over to Horror silently. This was between them. They didn't need him anymore. He waited until Cross stood in front of Horror before he left. He needs to find Fresh and Dust anyway.

 

Horror looked up as he felt someone approach him. It was Cross.

"I-I... I want to ap-apologise..." Horror stammered, obviously feeling really guilty.

 

Looking at Horror's tear stained face sent a bolt of guilt through him. Stars he had made Horror cry. What kind of monster was he?

Cross kneeled down in front of him with a gentle smile. "It's okay. I forgive you."

 

Horror looked up when he saw Cross kneel down in front of him. The other looked... guilty. He shouldn't. This was all Horror's fault. His eye sockets widened in shock when he heard what the other had to say. Cross... forgave him? He couldn't help but feel incredibly relieved. He sighed quietly, relaxing a bit.

 

Cross smiled when Horror looked relieved. It looked like a weight was removed off his shoulders. Stars he had been so guilty because of Cross. Thankfully he didn't have to feel guilty anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
> 
> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's wrong with Fresh...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fresh, Killer - X
> 
> Dust, Nightmare, Error - Skyler
> 
> Edit - X
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy! ^^

<b>With Fresh and Dust, a few minutes earlier</b>

Fresh stumbled, almost falling but managed to support himself with the wall as he followed Dust. Stars. He felt so extremely exhausted.

 

Dust heard the stumble behind him, he turned around to face Fresh. The other looked exhausted. Now with his glasses off, Dust could see the dark bags under his eye sockets, the dim eye lights and the pale purple of his magic. He looked almost sick.

He stopped and sighed. "Want me to carry you to the guest room?" he offered towards the skeleton with a blank look. Somehow he knew what the other would say.

 

"Um..." Fresh said with a hesitation that was extremely unlike him. He knew he would most likely not be able to reach the guest room, especially with how big the castle was. He looked at Dust and gave a small, shaky nod. Getting there on his own would also take extremely long so this was a pretty good solution to the problem.

 

Dust's eyes widened a tad. He was worse than what Dust had assumed. Shit.

Dust walked over to him and picked him up bridal style before walking towards the direction of the guest room.

"We're gonna have a <i>talk</i> soon. Then we're gonna have a talk with Nightmare once he gets back." Dust informed seriously. There was no way he was leaving Fresh alone after this. No freaking way. He'd have to tell Nightmare about this. Maybe convince the other to stay here for a while. They would see.

 

Fresh sighed in relief when he was picked up. His legs had started hurting already. Stars was he tired... He nodded along with whatever Dust was saying, flinching a bit when the other skeleton's voice dropped a bit to put some emphasis on a word.

"Fine..." Fresh agreed, closing his eye sockets. He shouldn't fall asleep yet. First Dust had said he wanted to talk to him. He yawned tiredly, mumbling something incoherent.

 

Dust noticed Fresh falling asleep and sighed, waiting for the other to inevitably doze off. Which he did and Dust used his magic to catch Fresh's shades before they fell onto the floor. He shook his skull at the other's passed out face.

"Sleep. We'll talk later."

 

Fresh fell asleep quickly, dozing off in Dust's arms. He didn't even notice his shades falling out of his hand as he went slack, completely dead to the world. Hopefully he wouldn't have a nightmare... He was already exhausted enough.

 

Dust used his magic to open the bedroom door and slipped inside. The interior was plain with basic necessities like a bed, a bedside table and a small closet. It had pale blue walls and cream carpet. The bed had light blue sheets and azure pillows.

Dust set the other skeleton on the bed and covered him with the blanket folded at the end of the bed. Fresh slept quietly, more passed out than asleep. Dust set his shades on the bedside table and sat down beside the other on the bed, looking at him worriedly. Fresh looked exhausted. Stars knew how long he slept last. Hopefully he'd get some rest now.

 

Fresh shifted slightly as he was laid onto the bed, slightly upset that Dust had let him go.

_______________

Killer walked down the hallway to the guest room they usually gave Fresh. He hoped Cross and Horror would be able to resolve their conflict. He opened the door and walked inside, shocked at what he was seeing. Fresh was asleep.

"How is he doing?" Killer asked, pulling the door closed behind him.

 

"Passed out. Exhausted. Didn't even fight back when I carried him." Dust replied without looking towards Killer. His eyes were fixed on Fresh's pale face. "Think somethings wrong?"

 

Fresh... Exhausted? That didn't sound good. Killer knew Fresh had much energy and could go without sleep for two days before even showing it. Something serious must have happened.

"That doesn't sound good..." Killer replied worriedly, walking over to the bed. There were dark rings under Fresh's eye sockets and he looked pale, something that didn't happen often to skeletons.

"He should eat something when he wakes up." Killer added.

 

Dust nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We might have to steal some real food other than candy and snacks. We don't have any proper food around here."

 

"Yeah we should. I don't think snacks would help him any..." Killer agreed, looking at Fresh. He hoped the other would sleep for a long time but he also wanted to wake him up and give him something to eat.

Fresh made a small, slightly distressed sound and shifted a bit. He hated being left alone and it wasn't really like he could see the others. Despite popular belief he really liked company and often sought out Nightmare and his gang or Error to hang out with them.

 

Dust noticed Fresh's distress and held the other's hand. "Shh... Just sleep. You're safe."

Dust then turned to Killer before he could leave. "Be quick. And get a crap ton of food."

 

Fresh let out a small, content sound as he calmed down, his hand unconsciously holding onto Dust's. He wasn't alone...

Killer nodded and quickly made a portal, hopping through. He had picked a random AU and quickly went to work, robbing a small grocery store and nearby homes of any food he could find.

 

Dust watched as Killer jumped through a portal. He knew he could rely on Killer to bring back some legit food. Maybe even some full HP food. Like healing gel, only a certain few AUs had it. Ink was terrible but at least there were some things he made that they could use.

Dust looked over to Fresh who held his hand in his sleep. It was a weak grip. More for comfort than to ground himself. That... spoke of loneliness. He should know. Most of the gang did it too.

Dust sighed sadly at Fresh. He wondered what had happened to him. Was he lonely? Was he hurting? Well... when Nightmare got back, they'd know.

 

Killer returned a quarter hour later, his pockets and arms full of food, a whole shopping cart full of it too. Fresh had slept peacefully the whole fifteen minutes but he stirred slightly now, the noise Killer was making waking him up despite him trying to be quiet. Apparently it had been a bad idea to bring the food straight to Fresh and Dust. Killer had been too worried to really think about it.

Fresh's eye sockets fluttered open, his eye lights dim and hazy as he looked around confusedly. Where was he again?

 

Dust chuckled when Killer came back later with arms and pockets full of food. He'd even brought a whole cart! Stars someone went a bit overboard. Hopefully he'd covered his tracks. He didn't want Inky coming in and ruining everything.

The dusty skeleton noticed a slight movement behind him and turned towards Fresh. He was waking up but seemed dazed.

"Hey, you feeling okay?"

 

Fresh blinked at the skeleton who had spoken, trying to identify them. Who? He recognised Dust after a time that might have concerned him had he not been so tired.

"I think so?" Fresh replied, his answer sounding more like a question than anything else. He wasn't really sure. He wasn't okay per se but he was better than when he had fallen asleep. He picked up on a delicious smell and his skull snapped into the direction of the food and where Killer was standing in an instant. He really wanted some food...

Killer frowned worriedly as he noticed how long the other seemed to take to recognise Dust and where he was. The look he gave the food wasn't really reassuring either.

"You want some?" Killer asked. Fresh nodded eagerly in response. Killer put some of the food he was holding down and handed the colourful skeleton a warm bowl of soup. Fresh took it gratefully and decided not to question where it had come from because it smelled pretty good. He started eating quickly, feeling extremely hungry.

 

Dust now felt worried out of his mind. Fresh was eating the soup like he was starving. This was extremely worrying.

Dust bit his lip and decided something. He was not leaving Fresh to go home. Not until they got to the bottom of this.

Dust stood up and grabbed the food from Killer's arms alongside the cart. "I'll bring this to the kitchen." he then turned to Fresh to give a reassuring smile. "I'll bring some food for you."

He then left with a grim look on his face.

 

Killer watched Dust who seemed to internally war with himself and then came to a grim decision. Killer nodded to the other. They needed to keep Fresh at the HQ for a bit to avoid him breaking himself. No matter how.

Fresh nodded thankfully, not even looking up from his soup. Killer seemed slightly relieved to have all that food out of his hands and balanced a few things from his pockets on top of the stuff on the cart.

Killer watched Fresh as he ate, concern welling up in his soul. Fresh's behaviour painted a grim picture.

 

Dust came back a few minutes later with a large bowl of soup and a glass of water. He smiled gently at Fresh.

"Hey, I'm back. I brought some food with me. Not sure what you liked but for now, soup will do." he said and set the bowl on the bedside table. He met Killer's eyes and both had a grim look in them. First Cross and then Fresh. Dust wondered how Nightmare would react when he got back.

 

Fresh smiled back, his smile looking slightly brittle. There was obviously something that was still bothering him.

"Th-thanks..." Fresh replied and took the bowl of soup, still hungry and started to eat. He looked slightly better now but his eye lights started hazing out after a bit of eating the soup Dust had brought and he felt so sleepy and tired, everything blurring as he drowsily put the bowl of soup away, feeling dizzy. A few moments later he collapsed, passing out.

Killer watched Fresh. Yeah. Dust had definitely added some kind of sedative. He nodded at the other.

 

Dust couldn't help a small grin when he saw the sleeping pill working on Fresh. He waited for the other to fall asleep. It was a mild sleeping pill. Usually it took a while to act upon consumption but with Fresh's already fragile state, it worked like monster traqulizer. Yes there used to be a few AUs with those dammed things. Error and Nightmare had destroyed them all. There were some things better left un-created.

Dust turns to Killer when Fresh collapsed. "That'll keep him under for about a few hours. Two or three give or take." he said with a proud grin before his face turned grim.

"So what do we do now? Fresh is sick, obviously, but what can we do without Nightmare?" he asked. "And what about Cross? And Horror? Did they fight?"

 

"Good." Killer responded, sounding pretty proud of the other.

"We should wait for Nightmare before deciding what to do with Fresh. He obviously needs some sleep and Nightmare will be back in three hours tops. Cross and Horror resolved their conflict." Killer replied. Or he hoped so. He should check in on them soon. He looked at Fresh again, frowning worriedly. The colourful skeleton didn't seem to be doing too good. They should check him over once he woke up and have at least one of them by his bedside.

 

Dust nodded in agreement. He looked over to the colourful skeleton sleeping on the bed before he sighed. "Today is not a good day, is it?"

 

"No. I vote for it being the worst day 2018." Killer replied, smiling slightly. They always voted for the best and worst days of the year on New Year’s Eve. This would make it at least into the top three, if not on the top spot.

 

Dust laughed at Killer's words. "Heheh yeah, I'd say today is not our day."

Dust's laughter gradually tampered off to a chuckle at Killer's vote. Yeah, today had been such a pain. First Cross missing then coming back unconscious and injured. Knowing that Horror had something to do with it. Fresh passing out. Stars today was a horrible day.

That reminded him, he needed to check in with Cross and Horror later. He wondered what had transpired between the two.

Dust turned to Killer with a frown. "Want to call Nightmare to come home early? I mean, we could use his help."

 

"That's a great idea. I already have a headache and it's only a bit after twelve a.m.... I need a coffee..." Killer let out a groan and buried his skull in his hands. He was not prepared to deal with this.

After a minute of collecting himself he pulled out his phone and called Nightmare, hoping that the other would pick up.

 

Dust shook his skull at Killer's choice of drinks and walks out of the room to the kitchen. He called out behind him loud enough for Killer to hear.

"Coffee will only make it worse. I'll make tea." they all hated tea but sometimes it was needed for situations like these.

 

Killer groaned as he heard Dust call out, nearly smashing his phone to the floor in frustration. He just really needed a coffee. Preferably an espresso. A full mug of espresso. Or just a litre of it. He wasn't picky. Just... No tea.

Killer waited for Nightmare to pick up, tapping his hand onto his scarred wrist agitatedly.

 

The call answered and Nightmare's annoyed voice spoke over the speaker. There was the sound of screaming behind him alongside a fight. Maybe Nightmare was fighting Ink and Dream.

Not the first time. And certainly not the last.

"Yes? What is it Killer?"

 

"Um.. We got a problem. An urgent one. Very urgent. Code 505 urgent. So extremely urgent." Killer rambled. 505 was their equivalent to SOS. He tried to keep it short, knowing Nightmare was probably busy and felt bad for annoying the other which just made his nervous stammering worse. He had to focus!

"Please. Code 505." He added, feeling as if he was repeating everything again.

 

Nightmare tensed at their red alert code. Shit, this sounded serious.

"Hold up." he said quickly to the receiver and covered his phone to his chest. But the other could still hear his yell.

"ERROR! I GOT A 505! WE GOTTA FINISH THIS NOW!"

 

Killer perked up slightly. Error was there too? Maybe he could help a bit too? It would be extremely helpful.

He waited if Nightmare still had something to say to him and absentmindedly watched Fresh as the skeleton slept peacefully.

 

There were glitched words coupled with the sounds of blasters while Nightmare groaned.

"I didn't ask what the 505 is right now."

Another glitched answer.

"You want to come? Fine. But is-? Alright."

Nightmare put his phone near his skull again. "We'll be there in a few."

 

"Great!" Killer responded, happy that they had Error's support too. He quickly ended the call, not wanting to distract Nightmare any more than he already had. He glanced back at Fresh as the short skeleton let out a small, barely audible groan. A thought shot through his mind. Had they even checked if Fresh was hurt?

"Dust?! Has Fresh any injuries?!" Killer asked worriedly.

 

Dust jumped when Killer screamed loudly from the bedroom. Thankfully he hadn't poured the hot water yet to make tea. He sighed and set the kettle down.

"Not sure! Does he have injuries?!" he yelled back. Thankfully the other two were asleep on the couch and they were heavy sleepers.

 

Killer frowned slightly. How should he know…?

"I dunno! Should I check?" Killer asked, the headache he had making it a bit harder to think. Of course he should check but wouldn't that be invasive? He didn't know anymore. He let out a small groan and fell onto the bed in indecision, trying to make up his mind.

 

It was then when a portal opened up and Nightmare jumped through with Error in tow. Both of them looked battered but not seriously injured. Even Error for once who didn't gain any new cracks or broken bones.

Nightmare heard the last tidbit and frowned. "Who's hurt?"

 

Killer let out a relieved groan as he slid off the bed and stood up again.

"It's Fresh. He saved Cross from Ink who tried to kill him and he's not doing good. He passed out as soon as we got him into a bed and seemed starved." Killer explained quickly, taking care not to mention why Cross was even alone and the whole story with Horror. The two were sleeping and they needed their rest.

 

Both skeletons froze at his words. That... was not what they had expected. They stared blankly at the nervous looking skeleton.

Error's face darkened as he swiftly turned. "Be RiGht BaCk-"

Nightmare used a tentacle to grab Error's wrist to prevent him from causing havoc. He had just gotten away from an enraged Ink, he didn't need to cause unnecessary harm to himself. Besides, Nightmare would take care of Ink himself. His eye was set on Fresh who was on the bed, passed out.

His eye narrowed at Killer. "Explain. Now."

 

Killer shrunk slightly under that intense gaze, looking away nervously. He sighed quietly and launched into an explanation, deciding that if he explained he might as well start at the beginning.

 

Both skeletons listened intently, fuming in silent anger. The more they listened, the angrier they got. But while Nightmare stood still with anger, at least he has the sense to stop Error from causing Ink any harm. That could come later. But right now, his gang needed him. And it looked like Fresh needed him too.

Nightmare sighed while pinching the bridge of his nasal bone. "Alright. Let me look over Fresh. If there aren't any physical injuries, this has to be a Soul one."

Nightmare let go of Error's wrist and walks over to Fresh. "Error, don't you go anywhere. You're staying here."

Error grumbled while he crossed his arms but didn't leave. Going after Ink right now was not a good idea. Especially when they didn't have a plan. Even for Error who was mostly just winging it.

 

Killer nodded grimly and took a step back, giving Nightmare space to check Fresh as he stood next to Error.

Fresh seemed okay on the first glance but if you looked closer you could see that he was slightly pale and breathing shallowly. Something obviously wasn't right here. The colourful skeleton had a fracture in his right ulna which made everyone question how exactly he was able to carry Cross and two of his ribs were cracked. It looked like someone had tried to torture him, not knowing what they were doing. His soul was glowing too dimly to be healthy and his HP was already under twenty.

 

Nightmare looked over the colourful skeleton meticulously, trying to conclude what the problem was. He was no doctor. Hell he was the farthest from a doctor as he could get. But he knew some things essential to survival. Fractures and Soul problems specifically. He had also gained some experience with his own injuries alongside healing his gang.

Nightmare pulled back the sleeves of his jacket and examined a fracture on his ulna alongside a few bruises and scars. Obviously sloppily healed. As if the purpose was to make sure whatever bleeding he had stopped and not to raise suspicion.

Nightmare looked to his ribs where his Soul laid and put a hand over Fresh's chest before he looked over to Killer. "Is he sedated?" Nightmare asked. He wouldn't put it past his boys to resort to that.

 

Killer's eye sockets widened as he saw the fracture. How had he been able to carry Cross with that injury?! He suddenly felt very sick to his non-existent stomach. They should have checked him over as soon as he came but Cross had been injured and...

Killer looked up at the question.

"Yeah. Dust gave him a sleeping pill into his food." Killer responded.

 

Nightmare hummed and turned his attention back towards Fresh. This would make it easier. Using the hand hovered over his chest, he summoned Fresh's Soul.

The upside-down white heart was glowing dimly. Too dim to be normal. Almost sick. His magic was low and his HP was low.

Nightmare checked him and his eye widened. He removed Fresh's hoodie and shirt and saw a lot more bruises and scratches. This time, more deliberate. More intentional. But yet again, sloppily healed. He could see scratches over scars. The pattern... was painting a dark picture.

Error narrowed his eyes at Fresh's condition. Fury welled up inside of him at the sight. Even someone like him knew this pattern.

Both skeletons thought the same thing as both had experienced it.

Torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
> 
> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fresh has been tortured but nobody knows who did it. They have to wait for Fresh to wake up to ask him all the questions which continue to pop up.
> 
> But how long will it take for him to wake up...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fresh, Killer, Horror, Cross - X  
> Dust, Nightmare - Skyler  
> Error - Both  
> Edit - X
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy! ^^

Killer's eye sockets widened as he saw how dim Fresh's soul was. What the fuck had happened?!!! How had he not noticed that?! He felt sick when he saw the other's ribcage. Shit... This was bad. This was extremely bad. Killer quickly left to get the healing gel and some food for Fresh. And maybe to process what the fuck had just happened. Damn... Fuuuuuuck!!!!

 

Nightmare turned his skull towards a retreating Killer with a bit of guilt. Stars he hadn't thought about how Killer would react. Thankfully his gang had never felt the pain of torture with the exception of Dust. Killer had been kidnapped but... he hadn't been tortured. Or at least, that he knew of. Killer hadn't said anything when he was kidnapped by Ink and Dream a while ago.

He turned back towards Fresh with a grim look. "Who... would do this?" he asked mostly to himself.

"MoSt LiKeLY tHe oThEr AUs." Error replied. "BUt obVIousLy nOT veRy SKillEd aT TorTuRE."

Nightmare hummed in agreement. "Yeah. This is more rushed. More impatient with their methods."

Error snorted. "NoOB."

Nightmare chuckled at his choice of words. "That's one way to put it."

 

Killer went into the kitchen, noticing Dust. Was the tea done already? He ignored him, too caught up in his mission to get healing gel. He got some and tripped over something on the floor, nearly falling. He was too out of it to function properly. At this rate he'd break down in a bit. He took some of the food he had scavenged, sighing and very close to banging his skull against the wall.

 

Dust had just finished the tea when Killer came running into the kitchen. He looked pale. Dust watched as Killer scrambled to get some food and healing gel, almost falling down in his haste.

When Killer almost fell down again, Dust used his magic to catch him. "Slow down Killer! What happened?" he asked in concern. Had something happened?

 

Killer had already prepared to fall, putting his arms in front of his face to protect his skull. He sighed thankfully as he was caught.

"Fresh is hurt. Badly..." Killer explained vaguely. "I have to get healing gel and food to him quickly because his condition is critical and I can't help but feel so extremely bad that I didn't notice anything and I gotta help him to make up for my mistakes and-" Killer ranted panickedly, taking a gasping breath to continue talking. He was so horrible! He should have could have helped but he hadn't!

 

Dust covered Killer's mouth with his hand, looking at him blankly but his eyes showed concern. "You were busy with Cross and Horror. If anyone's to blame it's me. I was with Fresh and I didn't notice."

He refused to remove his hand from Killer's mouth and looked at him sternly. "Let's settle this problem first before we blame ourselves okay? Glad I made more tea earlier." Dust grinned and removed his hand.

"Here let me help." Dust said, ignoring Killer for now and put a few food items on the tray before taking it towards the guest room.

 

Killer stared at Dust annoyedly as he held his mouth shut. He knew it was necessary though and left the hand where it was even if it made breathing a bit harder.

Killer shrugged slightly and followed Dust, a bit more focused now. He was really glad about that or else he would have stumbled again. He hoped Fresh would recover from this…

 

Dust walked towards the door and was surprised when he saw Error and Nightmare in the room. He knew Nightmare had been on a business trip. He hadn't thought it'd have been with Error.

"Hey Nightmare. Hi Error." Dust greeted and walked inside. "Is... Fresh okay?"

Nightmare shook his skull. "No." he answered truthfully.

"HE's bEeN toRtUreD." Error said bluntly making Dust tense. "We'Re nOT sURe bY wHO or wHeN."

"Oh." Dust said in shock. Now he needed to put down the tray before his arms weakened and the food ended up on the floor. He put the tray on the bedside table.

 

Killer stepped into the room after Dust, feeling his knees go weak at the new information. Tortured?! He quickly put the food onto the bedside table and gave Nightmare the healing gel. His legs felt as if they could give out any moment.

 

Nightmare tensed when he saw how Killer looked ready to fall down. Fortunately Error noticed and rushed over to him, grabbing his arm to prevent him from falling over.

"HeY, BrEaTHe." he said gently. Killer looked like he was about to pass out. "cOme On." Error said and gently pulled him out of the room. He looked ready to have a panic attack.

Nightmare grabbed the healing gel and let Error take care of Killer. He trusted the taller skeleton. Right then, his priority was Fresh.

 

Killer nodded dazedly and let himself be lead out of the room. Only a bit more strain and he'd collapse. Once out of the room he seemed to do a small bit better but he still looked ready to pass out at any given moment. It had been an awfully long day for him and he really needed some sleep.

 

Nightmare began working to apply healing gel on Fresh's wounds. Slowly the gel worked on healing what hadn't finished healing. It would take a while before it would take full effect. The best thing about healing gel was that not only did it heal injuries, it healed HP and strengthened the magic holding it together. It also soothed the area applied, making sure that there was no discomfort.

Hopefully it'd help Fresh's injuries. Nightmare was aware of Dust still standing in the room.

"You okay to help?" he asked.

Dust hummed in affirmation.

"Good. Fresh can't eat like this but he needs food. Looks like he hasn’t eaten in a while. So, I want you to go fix up a recipe that can be injected to the Soul." Nightmare commanded.

"A-alright. W-where...?" Dust trailed off, not knowing how to make this 'injectable food'.

"There's a book on the shelf. A thin red book. Page 5. That's your recipe."

Dust nodded and left. Hopefully he would be able to make it for Fresh.

 

Horror shifted a bit, waking up as he heard someone come into the living room. He was too sleepy to be surprised that it was Error and Killer with the former supporting the latter. He looked down at himself when he felt something tighten around his waist and saw Cross hugging him in his sleep.

"C'mere, Killer..." Horror prompted sleepily, holding out an arm in an invitation to a hug.

Killer stumbled over, looking incredibly exhausted and fell asleep immediately when he sank into the couch.

 

Error let out a sigh as he released Killer and watched as he fell asleep in Horror's hold. The other looked tired mentally and physically. He turned around and left quietly. Horror would watch over Killer. He had to get back to Nightmare. When this was all said and done...

Error's face turned grim with the promise of pain.

When they got to who did this to what was his, they were gonna beg for Death to come and reap their Souls.

 

Horror held the two sleeping skeletons in his arms close, wanting to do nothing more than protect the both of them. They were exhausted so he'd watch over them and make sure nobody hurt them and that they wouldn't have any nightmares.

Fresh shifted slightly, a barely audible whimper escaping him. He looked to be asleep deeply and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon but he shifted uncomfortably as he felt healing magic mend his broken bones. Stars, they were just doing that to make sure he stayed alive and to be able to hurt him more! He couldn't do this, couldn't! He needed to get out!

 

Nightmare was slowly applying some healing gel onto the bones when Fresh shifted and whimpered fearfully. He paused and examined his pained expression. The other looked too scared and too much in pain. Nightmare's eye narrowed in rage. Fresh would certainly have a scar after this. It was a given after what he'd been through.

Nightmare put a hand on Fresh's forehead, hushing him softly, trying to calm the distraught, unconscious skeleton. He let out his aura, the negativity that surrounded him. Hopefully it'd help Fresh since he was one of the few skeletons who found comfort in his magic.

"Shh... It's okay Fresh. It's okay. It's just me. It's just Nightmare. You're safe now. You're safe." he said softly in repeat as he continued to heal whatever injuries there were left.

Error came in a second later and watched as Nightmare comforted Fresh in his sleep. The destroyer stood at the doorway with crossed arms, watching the duo just a few feet away from him. If the Star Sanses ever saw this, they would have beaten Nightmare to a pulp thinking he was trying to manipulate or control Fresh. But in reality, that wasn't the case. Even a blind person could see how deeply Nightmare cared for what was his. Even Fresh.

Error's magic was rearing to be set free. To cause dEsTRucTIoN to whomever had hurt Fresh. Fresh was one of Nightmare's and Nightmare was one of his. By technicality, Fresh was also one of his. Someone to be protected.

When he'd find out whoever did this, that person better had a running head start. Because Error would stop at nothing until he found them and made them pay.

Error moved towards the bed and stood next to it. The moment the other would wake he'd ask him who had done this and then destroy them and their whole AU. At this rate he would probably destroy an original AU too, destroying all the copies of it with it.

Dust came in a few moments later, holding a syringe in his hand. Inside was a mixture looking like a mix between a poison and an antidote. Making this hadn't been easy but it was doable.

"Nightmare, I have it." he called.

Nightmare turned around and nodded. "Good, bring it here and I'll show you how to use it."

Dust followed and stood by the bed. The moment he laid eyes on Fresh, sadness and anger bloomed in him. Whoever had done this would pay. And he was sure Error was ready to go out and kill too. Maybe he'd let Dust join in?

Nightmare ignored the malice growing inside both Error and Dust to focus on Fresh. "See his Soul? I want you to gently pierce it with the needle and push slowly. Hopefully Fresh's magic won't reject it. But it will be uncomfortable." Nightmare warned.

"Uncomfortable? Will it hurt him?" Dust asked hesitantly. He didn't want to hurt Fresh. Fresh was his friend.

"No, it won't. It will feel very off but this is good for him." Nightmare said and Dust nodded.

"Alright. I'll do it." he said and did exactly what Nightmare had told him to do, making sure to be extra careful with his movements as to not harm Fresh's Soul.

 

Fresh shifted slightly with an incoherent whimper, trying to get his soul away from the uncomfortable feeling.

Error flinched slightly, resisting the urge to rip the needle out of Fresh's soul. Needles in your soul hurt like a bitch... He really didn't want Fresh to have to go through this but he knew it was necessary.

 

Nightmare watched Fresh's Soul and reactions intently. He stroked Fresh's hand gently to comfort him. Going as far as to gently rub his skull. He knew how uncomfortable the feeling was. It was like there was something terribly wrong inside of you. Something that shouldn't be there. Something that you needed to get out. But it was better than being painful. Souls were all about intent. Thankfully Dust's intentions were not to harm so Fresh shouldn't feel any pain.

The Soul took the magic and began glowing a bit brighter. Looking as if it had been injected life. Dust sighed in relief when the Soul began to look a little better. It even began humming softly, as most Souls should.

Dust pushed each ounce of liquid until there was nothing left. He slowly pulled the needle out of the Soul, which was now looking a little healthier.

"There. That should be enough to stabilize him." Nightmare said as he continued to rub Fresh's skull. "He probably won't want to eat anything when he wakes up but he has to. If he doesn't, he needs to get another injection." Nightmare stated, using his tentacles to clean up.

 

Fresh slowly calmed down when he felt someone comfort him and relaxed again, letting out a barely audible sigh. He drifted in comfortable darkness, his mind soothingly blank as he wasn't forced to think about anything.

Error suddenly remembered how Killer had collapsed earlier.

"arE You tIReD yET, dUST?" Error asked, turning away from Fresh to look at Dust.

 

Dust felt immensely relieved when Fresh's Soul looked healthier. He looked towards Error when the destroyer asked something.

He shook his skull. "No, a little sick but I'm fine."

 

"Okay. Please don't overwork yourself like Killer. We don't need someone else collapsing." Error explained, glancing at Fresh worriedly. He looked bad but he would live. He pulled up a chair for Dust to sit on and leaned against the wall next to the bed Fresh was using.

"You said something about tea?" Error asked Dust. He had listened in a bit from when he had been talking to Killer.

 

Dust hesitated when Error pulled out a chair, looking at the destroyer for confirmation. Wasn't Error going to sit? It wasn't like Dust was the one who had been fighting Ink.

Dust nodded when Error mentioned the tea he made. "Yeah, it's right there." he said, pointing to the overcrowded bedside table where the tray was. Maybe he should take off a few snacks from the pile.

Nightmare remained silent as he looked over Fresh, searching for any indication of what AU had done this to Fresh.

 

Error brightened up a bit when Dust pointed to the tea. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the bedside table, grabbing a bar of chocolate and a mug of tea. Then he leaned against the wall, letting out a weary sigh before he downed the whole cup of tea in one go, setting it back onto the tray. He opened the wrapping of his chocolate bar just like Cross had showed him and nibbled at the bar, not wanting to waste it by devouring it like he always did before.

 

Dust watched as Error drank a whole steaming cup- it was still hot since it hadn't even been half an hour yet! How the hell did he do that?!- before nibbling on a chocolate bar. At least he was eating. Better than when he wasn't eating.

Dust turned towards Nightmare with a concerned frown. "Found anything?" he asked. He knew Nightmare was trying to find evidence by looking over Fresh. After that then everyone could go destroy that AU as payback for hurting Fresh.

Nightmare shook his skull as an answer. "I can't tell where it came from." he sighed and put a hand on Fresh's forehead.

"We should let him sleep. We should all sleep." he added while looking towards Dust. Nightmare knew Error didn't sleep so he didn't bother asking. "We've all had a very long morning. We'll solve this problem tomorrow."

Dust wanted to protest but ended up sighing in defeat. Nightmare was right. They had a long day, it was not even noon and he was tired. They'd fix whatever problem today did, tomorrow. For now, sleep sounded nice. "Alright."

 

Error huffed slightly. He would have loved to take that AU apart piece by piece as the code erased itself, the agonised screams of the tortured Souls ringing out.

He nodded at what Nightmare was saying. Since he wouldn't sleep anyways he decided to stay either in the same room as Fresh or to stay just outside the room.

"i'lL sTAY hErE aND KeeP wATcH." Error offered, though it was less an offer and more a statement. Fresh was sleeping peacefully now, his breathing deep and steady as he slept.

 

Nightmare nodded and stood up. He could trust Error to keep watch while everyone slept. The midnight skeleton began walking towards the door, pausing before turning towards Dust.

"Going to bed or help me drag the other three to theirs?" he asked.

Dust bit his lip while fiddling with his hands in hesitation. After a moment, he spoke in a small voice. "Maybe... we could stay in your room?"

Honestly, he didn't want to be alone after a day like today. He just knew he'd do something bad if he would be alone, sleep was out of the question no matter how tired he was. Being near Nightmare and in extension his room, it made him feel safe. And he knew the others felt the same.

Nightmare paused at the question, thinking it over before nodding. "Sure." he said and walked out the door with Dust following shortly.

 

Error watched the two interact, a small smile on his face. He watched over Fresh as he continued sleeping peacefully. It would be best if he slept through the whole night. It would help Fresh replenish some more magic and help with his exhaustion.

After a while Error sat down on the chair he had pulled up for Dust.

Horror opened his eye sockets which had been closed because he had been trying to fall asleep again. He spotted Nightmare and Dust in the doorway and waved slightly, trying to avoid waking up the two skeletons in his hold.

 

Dust waved back with a fragile smile. "Hey Horror. Since you're up, want to help us carry Killer and Cross into Nightmare's room for a sleepover?"

 

"Okay." Horror mumbled sleepily, standing up slowly. He lifted Cross and carried him out of the room, yawning tiredly. He didn't even ask any questions as to why they were having a sleepover or anything. He was simply too tired.

He hoped he wouldn't stumble or drop Cross because of it...

 

Nightmare nodded thankfully when Horror grabbed Cross and used his tentacles to gently grab Killer, making sure not to wake the smaller skeleton. Now to move them to his room.

"Dust, go and prepare the room." Nightmare said. He trusted that Dust knew what to do. They'd done this a few times to know what to do.

Dust nodded and left towards Nightmare's room

 

Cross stirred slightly and opened his eye sockets, blinking up at Horror blearily.

"Just go back to sleep..." Horror mumbled, stumbling slightly. He managed to catch himself easily but it was very visible how exhausted he was.

 

Killer shifted in Nightmare's hold but fortunately stayed asleep. To Nightmare, he looked exhausted, mentally and emotionally. Killer was like the rest of them, especially in terms of mental health. Nightmare could only imagine how the strain of today was on the smaller skeleton.

 

He cradled Killer close to his chest securely and began walking towards his room, with Horror following behind him. The bloody skeleton looked exhausted too, which he could imagine why. Today had been a harsh day for all of them and sleep was needed.

 

Cross eventually fell asleep again, cuddling into Horror as the taller skeleton walked after Nightmare to his room. When they finally reached it, Horror was ready to collapse but managed to hold onto Cross with the last dredges of his strength. It would be beneficial for everyone if someone would be able to take Cross instead of him...

Horror yawned. Stars, was he tired...

 

Nightmare walked inside and took in the sight of his room that had been turned into a sleepover area. The bed had tons of pillows on it, he had a really big bed for these types of reasons, and multiple soft blankets strewn about. Dust stood in the middle of it, looking tired but proud.

"Well?" he asked with a small expectant smile. "How did I do?"

Nightmare nodded, pleased. "It's perfect Dust."

 

"I'm ready to collapse..." Horror groaned quietly, laying Cross onto the bed gently only to prove his words right as he collapsed next to the shorter skeleton. The pillows were really comfortable and he took the time to pull a blanket over Cross before he closed his eye sockets, letting out a long sigh. Finally in a bed. Cross opened his eye sockets slightly and scooted closer to the taller skeleton, hugging him.

 

Nightmare huffed out a chuckle at Horror's exhausted flop on the bed making Dust scoot backwards on the bed to avoid Horror's skull, watching as Cross cuddled up to Horror sleepily. He looked at Nightmare with a smile. Yeah, they were all exhausted.

Nightmare gently placed Killer next to Horror and climbed up the bed, using his tentacles to position everyone properly before laying in the middle of the bed with his gang curled up around him. Dust joined them and drifted off to sleep easily. Nightmare's dark aura protecting all of them like a cocoon.

All of the skeletons drifted off into sleep, winding down early from a very emotionally and mentally tiring day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
> 
> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fresh finally wakes up but he seems to be even worse off than anticipated...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fresh, Error - X  
> Nightmare - Skyler  
> Edit - X
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy! ^^

Error looked up from his knitting when he heard a small sound from the bed, his excellent hearing picking up on a soft groan from Fresh's direction. He was very surprised that the other had managed to sleep peacefully up until then. He stood up before Fresh could wake up and quickly ran to Nightmare's room where he saw the others cuddling.

"nightmaRE?" Error asked quietly, trying to wake the dark skeleton up without disturbing the others.

 

Nightmare opened his one eye to look at Error who was standing in the doorway. In all honesty he hadn't even been asleep yet. He was too wound up and worried to rest. And with Error here, he began to wonder if his worry was justified.

"What is it Error? Something wrong?" the dark skeleton asked, slowly and carefully sitting up on the bed. The other skeletons sleeping around him undisturbed.

 

"i think fREsh is waking up." Error informed the other and immediately turned around, walking back to Fresh quickly. He hoped Nightmare would follow him but he was more worried about Fresh.

Fresh was sitting up in bed, shivering harshly. His eye sockets were empty as he stared at the wall.

 

Nightmare's eye widened and carefully removed himself from the bed, trying to avoid waking them up. Once his feet touched the floor, he began walking towards the room where Fresh was. Walking inside, his worry spiked when he saw Fresh's state. That didn't look good.

Quickly rushing to his side, Nightmare began talking softly, soothingly, trying to pull the skeleton out of whatever trance he was in. "Fresh? Fresh, can you hear me?"

 

Fresh flinched back hard, his eye sockets widening in shock. He wasn't wearing his glasses! Nonono! He covered his eye sockets with his hands, flinching at the pain he felt in them and tried to get away from the loud voice, shivering harshly.

Error observed the situation, trying to figure out what was wrong. Fresh was covering his eye sockets panickedly. The tall skeleton quickly took Fresh's shades and handed them to Nightmare.

 

Nightmare took the sunglasses in confusion but he handed them to Fresh nonetheless. Putting the sunglasses near the skeleton instead of touching the other. Touching someone when they were in a panic was a very bad idea.

"Fresh? Fresh shh... it's me. It's Nightmare. Remember me?" Nightmare said softly. He noticed how Fresh was covering his eyes, as if in pain. Had he missed something? Had they hurt his eyes too?! "Fresh, there are your glasses. Shh... relax. It's just me. Just us, me and Error. You're safe, Fresh. You're safe."

 

Fresh quickly grabbed his glasses and put them on, proving Error's assumption right. They displayed only one word. "panic". The skeleton was breathing heavily but not hyperventilating like before so that was maybe a bit of a win.

Fresh slowly calmed down, reminding Error of his own breakdowns. That was what they looked like for watchers then...

Fresh slowly stopped trembling, his frantically beating soul calming down, his breathing going more regularly.

 

Seeing Fresh calming down, Nightmare decided to ask. "Fresh? Fresh, what's wrong?"

It was clear that the skeleton was not okay, not okay one bit. And Nightmare wanted to know why. What had happened to him to provoke this reaction?

 

Fresh sighed quietly, fixing his glasses now that his mind was clearer. Nightmare's question filled him with dread.

"Um..." He stammered nervously. He knew that lying wouldn't work and that he would have to tell the truth eventually.

"I… So-someone kid... napped me..." Fresh replied shakily, trembling slightly.

 

Nightmare nodded calmly but on the inside, he was fuming. Someone had kidnapped Fresh?! What motherfucker would kidnap him?! Why?! For what reason?! And most of all:

"Who?" Nightmare asked softly, standing close but not touching the other. Not without permission.

 

"Uh... The skelebros of a Swa-swapfell copy... Swapfell-17, I th-think..." Fresh mumbled quietly, rubbing his skull in thought. A grumbling from his stomach area made him flinch. He was really hungry but the thought of eating made him sick...

 

Nightmare nodded but made no movement except trying to comfort the skeleton, hushing him softly. He didn't have to go destroy that AU. He knew Error would 'deal' with that. It was a copy anyway so it should be fine.

The black skeleton heard Fresh's stomach and asked. "You want anything Fresh?"

 

"I feel nauseous..." Fresh explained quietly. He didn't want to eat anything and didn't feel like he could but he knew he had to.

"Maybe so-something light? Like soup? B-but don't drug it?" Fresh requested, his cheek bones flushing slightly. He had been caught off guard so easily and then the others had managed to get some kind of sedative into him... He knew they only meant well but it was a weird feeling to be forced to sleep.

"A-and could I have... a h-hug?" Fresh asked, his cheek bones dusting a bit brighter in his embarrassment.

 

Nightmare chuckled softly at his request, being forced into sleep was a very odd feeling. He'd been drugged before and it hadn't been a very pleasant experience. He'd rather be hit by Dream in the head than feel that again.

He reached over and pulled the bright skeleton into a loose comforting hug, feeling thankful he had tons of practice with his gang. "I'm sorry they drugged you Fresh. They meant well." he said while gently rubbing Fresh's spine comfortingly.

After a moment he pulled away. "I'll go get the soup for you okay? Stay here for a moment. I'll be quick." Nightmare said and walked out the door and into the kitchen. He was sure Killer brought like, five bowls of soup from wherever. Surely there was one more to spare.

 

Fresh tensed up slightly as he was hugged but relaxed immediately when he remembered that this was Nightmare and that he would never hurt him. He chuckled quietly.

"Yeah. I kn-know..." Fresh replied, sighing quietly. Nightmare gave the best hugs.

Fresh suppressed a whine when the taller skeleton pulled back. He nodded after a moment, leaning against the head of the bed as Nightmare left. He looked over to the door where he could spot Error. He gave a small, weak wave.

"HI, fREsh." Error greeted softly, walking to his side. If the other needed something he only had to say so and Error would move literal mountains for him. Nobody deserved to be tortured. Especially one of his! He was going to deal with the universe swiftly and brutally.

 

Nightmare groaned softly at the accumulating amount of malice and vengeance coming from Fresh's residing room. He should have expected that honestly. Should have expected that.

Walking quickly, Nightmare found the piles of food and a literal cart in the kitchen. Sighing softly, he was going to have to clean this up later, he grabbed a bowl of what seemed like chicken soup. At least, he assumed. He rarely ate after all. He did eat, just rarely. The brown broth had to be chicken right? What else could it be?

He put the bowl in the oven to warm it up, setting it on one minute. After the microwave dinged, he grabbed the warm bowl and went back to the room.

"Hey Fresh. I got the undrugged soup." Nightmare said with a smirk as he walked inside.

 

Error was sitting on the chair next to Fresh's bed, playing around with some strings but not really doing anything productive as he imagined just what he would do to the inhabitants of Swapfell-17. He was going to make them pay!

Fresh sat leaned against the head of the bed, fumbling around with his sunglasses nervously. He perked up slightly when he smelled the absolutely heavenly aroma in the air but his non-existent stomach twisted slightly, obviously not wanting to take any food.

 

Nightmare walked closer to the bed, briefly looking at Error- who looked like he was planning a fucking war- before handing Fresh the bowl of soup.

"Careful. Don't eat too fast, you'll choke." Nightmare advised, watching Fresh. His eye landed on his sunglasses. They were inside. Not enough sunlight that required sunglasses indoors. He wondered... why did Fresh wear his glasses all the time?

 

Fresh fumbled around with the bowl clumsily. His sunglasses were making everything in the already dark room even darker and he could barely see a thing. He nodded and nearly blindly searched for the spoon. When he finally found it, the soup was already cooled down enough for him not to burn his whole mouth. He shakily scooped up some of the soup and brought it to his mouth, sipping on it. He had spilled nearly half of it back into the bowl while raising his hand. That was how badly he was shaking.

The soup tasted awesome and he felt sick. He put the spoon into the bowl again but didn't try to eat anymore, fighting off a wave of nausea.

 

Nightmare raised a brow when Fresh didn't eat any more. The skeleton was shaking badly, threatening to spill the soup onto himself.

Nightmare hovered close in case he needed to snatch it from him. "Fresh? Is something wrong?"

 

Fresh looked up as Nightmare asked him that question and nearly broke into tears. Of course there was something wrong. He had been kidnapped and tortured and almost killed. He was incredibly shaken.

"I feel si-sick..." Fresh replied instead, his voice shaky. His whole body was trembling and he feared a bit for the good soup that he would likely spill. He couldn't eat much more though. Maybe he would be able to force down three spoonfuls but that was his limit.

 

"Alright. Do you need anything?" Nightmare asked feeling a little lost. He had no idea what to do. Usually his gang would tell him or he just knew what he had to do. With Fresh, he was hopeless.

But he had to try. "How about a few more bites? Okay? Then how about a warm bath or something? It usually helps my gang when they're sick." he suggested.

 

"I-I'm not sick in the re-regular sense. I just feel really nauseous and my wh-whole body hurts..." Fresh corrected quietly. He wasn't sick... He thought. Maybe he was. He let out a small groan when the subject of eating came up. He quickly ate three spoonfuls and then he couldn't get anything inside him no matter how hard he tried.

"Though... A bath s-sounds nice..." Fresh mumbled. He wasn't shaking anymore and his voice didn't stutter as much as before either. He looked pretty nervous still though.

 

Nightmare nodded and gently took the bowl from him, handing it to Error. A silent request to eat it at least. But with his luck and knowing Error, he'd probably just put it in the kitchen- to Nightmare's annoyance. Either Error was super stubborn or he was really dense. It was actually a mixture of both.

"I'll run a bath for you." Nightmare said. "You stay here okay?"

 

Error looked at the bowl of soup. What did Nightmare want him to do with it? He shrugged mentally and put it onto the overfilled bedside table, taking a small bar of chocolate.

Fresh nodded at Nightmare's words and stayed in the bed as he was told. He looked slightly surprised to see Error eating the chocolate. But since it was the only thing the other really ate, he ignored it.

 

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Nightmare ran a warm bath with unease. Fresh's reactions made him feel furious yet worried. As far as he knew, Fresh had never mentioned a brother. Nor had he ever been busy. If Nightmare called for him, he'd be there right there after he called. As if he was never busy. Never had plans.

It hit him hard how he barely knew Fresh. Nightmare would admit that he'd grown fond of Fresh. He was not like the other Sanses. Yes, he was not a Dark Sans but it had never mattered. Nightmare could safely say now that he saw Fresh as one of his.

And now one of his was hurt and clearly having issues that needed to be dealt with. Issues Nightmare would have to resolve.

Once the bath was full, Nightmare snapped out of his thoughts and threw a bath bomb inside. Instantly, white bubbles formed in the tub. There was a green sparkle in them alongside a smell of pine, snow and a campfire. Most of his gang associated that smell with safety, with home. Hopefully it'd help Fresh relax. It was also stolen from a very advanced AU. The bath bomb had calcium and healing magic in it that would hopefully heal any injuries Nightmare had missed. Physical and Soul wise.

Feeling satisfied, Nightmare left the bathroom to call Fresh. After that, maybe he'd put the other to sleep. But maybe not with drugs this time. Twice in a row? Yeah, he'd find another way to make the other fall asleep.

Walking inside the bedroom, he called out. "Fresh? The bath's ready."

 

Error took another bar of chocolate and slowly ate it, trying to calm his rage. He couldn't leave Fresh alone. They would still have enough time to get revenge later when Fresh was okay again.

Fresh shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable with all the scratches on his ribs. He tried not to think about why he had them but it was a battle he was slowly loosing.

Fresh snapped out of his thoughts, looking up emptily when Nightmare spoke to him. He blinked twice and then tried to hide the fact that he was feeling like shit again.

"O-okay." Fresh stammered nervously and sat at the edge of the bed, standing up carefully. He didn't want his legs to give out.

 

Nightmare walked closer, hovering by the hurt skeleton.

"Need any help?"

 

Fresh nodded slightly. While he was remotely stable he didn't want to risk collapsing while walking to the bathroom. That would suck...

"Yeah, pl-please..." Fresh mumbled quietly, supporting himself with the wall.

 

"Alright then." Nightmare nodded and used his tentacles to help support Fresh's weak body. The bones were brittle. But... not through abuse.

Nightmare discreetly raised a brow. He hadn't noticed that. Fresh's bones were brittle but not from abuse or hunger in a short amount of time. He had... always been like this. Thin, nimble, small. Not even Cross had been this small when Nightmare had first found him.

This opened up a new can of worms Nightmare was afraid to open.

The dark skeleton gently helped Fresh walk over to the bathroom and sat him down on the edge of the tub. Nightmare turned away to give him some privacy but still hovered his tentacles near if the other needed help. Fresh obviously needed care, the type of care Nightmare was willing to give to one of his.

 

Fresh flinched slightly when Nightmare's tentacles touched him, clearly uncomfortable. He let himself be lead to the bathroom without complaint though and sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

Fresh took off his shirt, revealing a few minor cracks on his ribcage. Something about one of his lower ribs looked slightly off though, something that none of the other skeletons had noticed yet. It hurt pretty badly though. It was cracked in two places, a big chunk of bone missing as marrow dribbled from the injury steadily.

Fresh ignored it with practised ease and pulled off his other clothes, getting into the bathtub. There were bubbles and that made his eye lights sparkle slightly. He loved bubbles.

Fresh still had his sunglasses on.

 

Once Nightmare heard Fresh get into the tub, he turned around and immediately frowned. Other than the white water quickly having a shade of pink to it, Fresh was still wearing his glasses.

"Fresh? Aren't you going to take off your glasses? Wouldn't they be ruined by the water?" he asked with a raised brow. Something wasn't right. He could feel it.

 

Fresh shifted uncomfortably. His sunglasses could manage being hit by water, couldn't they? They had been faring fine so far...

"I.. I li-like 'em so much?" Fresh tried shakily, trembling slightly. If he took off his glasses Nightmare would see what a freak he was and throw him out. He wouldn't be able to bear that. Nightmare and his gang and Error were the only people who tolerated him anymore...

 

Nightmare frowned at his answer. "Bullshit. Not even Killer likes his knife so much he would bathe with it."

Okay that was partially true. Killer had bathed with his knife sometimes saying that he liked his knife. But Nightmare quickly found that to be a lie when he saw him clutching his beloved knife and a pool of blood under him. Safe to say, Nightmare had banned him from taking any sharp objects with him to the bathroom. But there was a bat and pepper spray hidden in the drawer just in case.

Seeing the familiar signs of anxiety, Nightmare knelt down next to the tub to look at Fresh in the eyes. "Fresh, why won't you take off your glasses?" he asked softly. His eye saying 'if you tell me the truth, I won't be mad.'

 

Fresh flinched at being called out like that, tears collecting in his eye sockets. He couldn't let anyone see. Not even Nightmare!

"I... I'm... I..." Fresh stammered anxiously, one hand raised to hold onto his glasses should the other try to take them off forcibly. He was shaking badly.

They always made sure to remind him just how ugly his eyes were. Especially the one with the heart in it. They said he ate souls and that his eye light was one he hadn't digested yet and kept in reserve. He didn't eat souls. He swore it. They hadn't believed him and had abandoned him. Fresh's breathing quickened without any input from him.

 

"Shh..." Nightmare hushed softly. He had kind of expected that. Dealing with his gang thankfully had sharpened his comforting skills. "Shh... Fresh. Fresh look at me. Little one, look at me please."

 

Fresh flinched as he felt tears roll down his cheek bones. Stupid! Stupid! He shouldn't cry all the time! His eye lights snapped to Nightmare when he heard him call out, more tears sliding down his face. He couldn't disappoint them.

"S-sorry..." Fresh mumbled quietly, closing his eye sockets. He took his sunglasses off for not even a second, wiping his eye sockets to get rid of the tears before putting them on again. He couldn't let them see!

 

Nightmare gently raised a hand to wipe away his tears for him. "There's nothing to be sorry about." he said softly.

"Fresh, tell me what's wrong?"

 

Fresh flinched at the physical contact so close to his eyes. What if...? He shook his head slightly, trying to shake off the thought.

Fresh's eye sockets widened at the thought of telling Nightmare what was wrong but he had to...

"I... It's my e-eyes..." Fresh explained quietly.

"They're... _wrong_." Fresh added, starting to shake slightly. There he'd said it. Now Nightmare would like to see his eyes to see what he was talking about, be disgusted and throw him out. That was what always happened.

 

"Wrong?" Nightmare asked tilting his head patiently. "What's wrong about your eyes?"

 

"They're just... wr-wrong." Fresh replied quietly. "They don't... look li-like they're supposed to look like." The small skeleton tried to explain. Even to himself he didn't make any sense but he was trying. He was trying his damnedest to explain something he couldn't quite explain. He hoped Nightmare would understand and just leave him alone. It felt like he was being interrogated...

 

"So?" Nightmare asked, gently running his fingers down Fresh's cheek. His Soul aching with second hand pain coming from the other. "Neither are Dust's eyes. Or Killer's Soul. Or even Horror's skull. Whatever it is, I won't suddenly hate you for it."

 

Nightmare did have a point. Maybe... Just maybe it would be okay to show the other?

Fresh was shivering harshly as he took off his glasses slowly, his eye sockets squeezing shut on their own accord. He breathed in shakily and slowly opened his eye sockets.

 

When Fresh opened his eyes, Nightmare expected something scary or unnatural. He'd seen a few eyes in different AUs. Some weren't normal or even scary. Some had hypnotic swirls or even had buttons for eyes. He'd seen creepy and scary so he'd be fine with whatever Fresh showed him. Besides, it wasn't about the looks. It was about the personality.

To his surprise what he saw was actually stunning. Fresh had... beautiful eyes. One of them was normal but the other? An upside-down heart, looking like a Soul. Soft purple magic burning from both sockets casting a beautiful light show. A slight sparkle of magic in the flames.

If anything, Nightmare could safely say that Fresh's eyes were beautiful. "Wow." he breathed out in awe.

 

Fresh stiffened, steeling himself for the harsh words. His eye sockets widened when he only heard a wow. What?

"Umm..." Fresh mumbled uncomfortably, looking up at Nightmare. He wasn't sure he had heard that right.

"What?" He asked.

 

Nightmare looked into Fresh's eyes and gave him a small smile. "And you said your eyes are wrong. They look right to me. Perfect, actually." he praised.

 

Fresh flushed brightly, his eye sockets widening in shock.

"What? You don't th-think they're horrifying?" Fresh asked tentatively as if the fact that anyone would like his eyes would be unbelievable, surreal. He glanced down nervously, his eye lights sparking a bit as he got more and more anxious. Nightmare was just joking with him, playing a mean prank on him.

 

"Why would I? They're stunning." Nightmare said truthfully before he frowned. "Who said that they're horrifying? I don't see anything close to it."

 

Fresh's whole face erupted into purple and his eye lights glowed brightly as he let out an embarrassed squeak. Why would Nightmare say that?!!

"Umm..." Fresh stammered nervously. He wasn't sure if Nightmare would like the answer.

"Eve-everyone wh-who has seen them..." Fresh replied quietly, averting his eyes again as they dimmed, flickering with sadness.

 

Nightmare scowled unhappily. Those bastards. Those jealous, jerk-like bastards. They saw someone who was special and they insulted them. Almost made him want to haunt their nightmares to teach them a lesson. Almost. He had better things to do than deal with trash like them.

Gently cupping Fresh's cheek, he turned the other to face him. "Well, I saw them. And I say that they're stunning. I'm sure if the gang sees them, they'll share my sentiments."

 

If Fresh's face could get any brighter if would but apparently he had reached his limit. He was completely unused to genuine compliments. He had never gotten any, only disgust and now he had no idea what to do, his face just getting brighter and brighter. How could anyone think his eyes were stunning?! He looked up at Nightmare, wanting nothing more than to sink into the ground in embarrassment. Maybe even just under the surface of the water. Yeah. That would work too. His eye lights were burning brightly.

 

Nightmare chuckled at the flustered look on Fresh's face made possible by a few genuine words. His gang was like that too and it was always enjoyable to see them falter just by a few spoken words.

He let go of Fresh's cheek and stood up, smiling softly down at Fresh. "Alright Fresh, how about you clean up and then we'll try to get you to eat. Come on, hand me the glasses. You wouldn't want to get them wet would you?"

 

Fresh turned his head away with a frown. He didn't like getting laughed at...

Fresh's eye sockets widened in shock, his eye lights dimming at the thought of being separated from his glasses. They always protected his eyes from view and could take a hit which made them a sort of barrier too.

This was Nightmare. He would give him his glasses back.

Fresh squeezed his eye sockets shut and shakily extended the hand with his glasses, handing them to the taller skeleton.

 

Nightmare gently took the offered glasses from the shaking skeleton, pocketing the shades in his pocket for safe keeping. The dark skeleton smiled gratefully. "Don't worry, you'll get them back." he assured.

"Now, I'm gonna leave to give you some space. If you need anything, just call my name okay?" Nightmare said, waiting for a nod. If Fresh wanted him to stay and keep him company, he would. But if he needed space, Nightmare would gladly give it. Anything to make sure he'd get better.

 

Fresh's eye lights stayed glued to his glasses until they vanished in Nightmare's pocket. He felt a bit reassured by the fact that the other had bothered to tell him that he would get his glasses back. He didn't really know what he would do without them...

At the thought of being left alone, a shiver ripped through Fresh's body. He knew something bad would happen if he would be caught without his glasses and he was entirely unable to defend himself. No matter where he was, something bad always happened to him.

"U-umm... Could you... maybe stay?" Fresh asked quietly, hopefully. He also didn't want to be alone.

 

Nightmare nodded at his request. Sitting on the toilet lid, they didn't need to go to the bathroom so it had no use, the dark skeleton turned to face Fresh.

Now there was only silence. He wasn't sure what to say. He was not going interrogate Fresh.

 

Fresh breathed out a sigh of relief when the other didn't leave, seeming much happier than a normal person would have looked at having someone stay with him. In truth he liked company.

"Th-thanks..." He stammered quietly, a small smile on his face. He looked unsure what to do for a second before practically submerging himself in the bubbles, scrubbing at his bones gently.

 

Nightmare nodded with a smile before he leaned back and closed his eye to relax. Or as much as he could considering what had happened. Thinking everything over to try and fix this mess. First Cross. Then Horror. Now Fresh. Today was just not their day.

 

Fresh quickly washed himself, trying to not let his thoughts stray to why he had all these injuries. He let out a pained gasp when he touched the shattered rib at the bottom of his ribcage, the injury reopening from the jostling.

"Frick." Fresh hissed, the closed word to fuck he could use. Tears shot into his eye sockets at the immense pain.

 

Nightmare tensed at the sound and snapped open his eye to find the threat. Instincts taking control for a moment, screaming at him to protect what is his.

The moment he saw the water turn a darker shade of pink, bordering on red, he went to Fresh's side trying to find the injury.

"Fresh? Where does it hurt?" he asked calmly yet quickly. If there was a wound Nightmare had missed he had to be fast to fix it or else it'd get worse and would never heal.

 

Fresh winced, letting out a pained gasp. He sat up a bit so that his lower ribs raised out of the water and silently pointed at one of the lower ones which had a big chunk of bone missing. It looked extremely painful. It was extremely painful actually.

Fresh gritted his teeth, his eye sockets scrunching shut. Stars! It hurt so freaking much!

 

Nightmare's eye shrunk at the sight of the mangled bone. Thinking quickly, he used his tentacles to pull out the first aid kit from under the sink and used two other tentacles to raise Fresh out of the water by his arms slightly to expose more of the ribs. The sight of the missing bone filled him with fury unlike any other. Who had done this to him?! Who in the fucking hell had done this to an innocent like Fresh?!! Whoever had done it would pay dearly. Nightmare would make sure of that.

Nightmare opened up the first aid kit and pulled out a small bottle filled with grey liquid and a needle. Filling up the needle and wiping the area of bone with an alcohol wipe, Nightmare said calmly to the distraught and in pain skeleton. "This here will help numb the area so you won't feel pain. That'll help me patch you up without worrying about hurting you. But it will hurt a lot when I apply this cause it's going straight into your wound and it'll take a moment to spread. You ready?"

 

Nightmare was moving so fast that Fresh didn't even manage to comprehend everything, wincing a bit when he was lifted. He flinched back when his wound was cleaned, the alcohol burning like fire. Tears shot into his eye sockets again, making him unable to see much. Everything was blurry because of the tears...

Fresh took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Re-ready." Fresh whispered shakily. He didn't feel ready at all but he was as ready as he could be. He squeezed his eye sockets shut, bracing for the pain.

 

Nightmare nodded and flicked the end of the needle to make sure that there were no air bubbles. Once that was done, he used his tentacles to steady the crying skeleton from making too much movement. Nightmare felt so guilty for doing this. This serum wasn't well used because of how painful the injection was. The whole reason his gang never used it beyond needed requirements, if they could take the pain and stay conscious enough to patch up then they wouldn't need this. That was how bad the pain is. Doing this to Fresh, Nightmare felt so immensely guilty. But he didn't know another way to quickly alleviate the pain.

Steeling his nerves, Nightmare found the open wound and quickly but carefully injected the needle deep inside the marrow, wincing and tightening his grip when Fresh trashed violently. He kept silent, trying to focus as he injected the painful serum inside the bone.

Once all of it was gone, he pulled the needle out and pressed a cloth to the wound to stop the bleeding, hushing and comforting Fresh all the while.

"Shh... it's done. It's done. Just relax. It'll be over soon." he said softly while rubbing Fresh's skull.

 

Fresh thrashed when Nightmare inserted the needle. The pain spiked, a bolt of pure agony shooting through his whole body. He was sobbing now, his teeth clenching hard enough that it was a wonder they didn't crack. His eye lights guttered out, leaving his eye sockets completely hollow. He didn't even notice once Nightmare was done, his very soul burning with pain.

Fresh sobbed loudly, the comforting barely reaching him through the haze of pain.

 

Nightmare saw how much in pain Fresh is, feeling so terrible for doing this to him. But it was needed even if he didn't like it. He was used to doing necessary evil for the greater good. Even if it hurt him.

But he had to at least try to comfort Fresh. At least until the pain numbed and he could begin his work.

Nightmare wiped away Fresh's tears before pulling him close to his chest, ignoring how his clothes were getting wet. He hugged him close, trying to comfort him through the pain. Rubbing the back of Fresh's skull and back, Nightmare hushed him softly, trying to comfort him.

"Shh... Shh.... it's okay. It's okay. I know it hurts. Just bear it a little longer. It'll be over soon. Shh... Just calm down. It'll be over soon."

 

Fresh sniffled as he slowly calmed down, the physical contact helping immensely. The pain slowly tapered off into a dull thrum and he let out a sigh, going limp against Nightmare. He was exhausted but still completely conscious.

"Th-thanks..." Fresh mumbled quietly. He was really grateful that Nightmare had comforted him. He hadn't been forced to but had done so anyways and that made Fresh's soul swell slightly. His eye lights reformed and he wished he hadn't been looking down because he could see the fractured rib. It looked bad. Really bad.

 

"Anytime." Nightmare answered, still continuing his gentle petting. "Tell me when the pain numbs so that I could try to fix your rib okay?"

He hadn't gotten to see how extensive the damage was when he had first seen it. Too busy trying to make Fresh's pain go away. When the pain stopped he could work to fix it properly. But not now. Now, Fresh needed his comfort and he was going to give it. He just needed to be patient.

 

"I-it's a dull thrum now..." Fresh explained, gladly taking the comfort which thankfully distracted him from his injury. He had only just noticed that the chunk of bone that was missing was at least two inches long. He felt sick. Why did they torture him like that?!

 

"Okay. Just give it a moment for the pain to be gone completely. I'll start working then." Nightmare said, tightening his hold slightly when he felt Fresh's negative emotions. Later. He'd ask later.

 

"I think... it's g-gone..." Fresh said after a few more minutes. It was very disconcerting that an injury this bad didn't hurt anymore.

 

Nightmare nodded and pulled away. "Alright. Just stay calm, I'll fix the injury." he said then looked at the broken rib currently covered by the cloth he applied. He removed it to see the damage better.

His eye narrowed when he saw a chunk of bone missing. That would explain the pain. How had he not noticed that earlier?

Shaking his skull to get rid of the violent thoughts, he pulled out a white jar from the first aid kit. Opening the lid, inside was a white creamy thick paste with speckles of green inside. Taking a generous amount with two fingers, Nightmare applied the cream onto the wound, making sure that it completely covered the bone and blended seamlessly with the rib.

"This will help grow the bone back. But it will scar. I'll have to apply this every 12 hours to make sure the bones keeps growing. It'll be good as new in a few days, two or three days tops." Nightmare explained as he finished up. He reached inside the kit and pulled out a small roll of gauze and a white cloth. Pressing the cloth down on the wound, he wrapped the gauze around the rib to make sure that it stayed in place. "This will make sure nothing will halt the process." he said as he wrapped the rib.

After a moment, Nightmare pulled away and wiped his hands with a clean towel. "Done. Don't be afraid if you don't feel anything for a few hours. That's just how the serum works." Nightmare assured.

 

Fresh watched Nightmare work, listening intently. That was fine with him.

"Um... Could I maybe get out of the bathtub?" Fresh asked. He wasn't stammering all that much anymore.

 

Nightmare nodded and grabbed a towel from the folded pile on the counter. "Sure." he said.

Nightmare stood up and used his tentacles to help Fresh out of the tub, not affected by his lack of clothing before handing him the towel. "Go and dry up. I'll find some clothes for you. I won't be gone long." Nightmare said softly in reassurance. He didn't want to make Fresh feel panicked or uncomfortable. That was reserved for more deserving parties.

 

Fresh nodded affirmatively, not really caring about his lack of clothing either. He had nothing summoned so there wasn't really anything to be embarrassed about. He used the time Nightmare was gone to dry himself off carefully, trying to not let the towel snag on any of his cracks. That would be painful.

Speak of the devil! Fresh winced when the towel snagged on a crack and tugged at the bone, threatening to break off a piece of bone. Ouch!

"Oww..." Fresh mumbled exhaustedly, tears dotting his vision.

 

After finding some clothes that would fit Fresh, a plain cyan t-shirt and pink sweatpants- they hadn't used to be pink but Dust had managed to drop red colouring in the washing resulting in the laundry being pink. Honestly, it fit Fresh's color palette.

Nightmare walked back inside the bathroom where Fresh was, knocking first before entering. "Fresh?" he called then tensed at the tears in Fresh's sockets.

Nightmare immediately rushed to his side and examined the other. "Fresh? Are you alright? What's wrong? Where are you hurt?" he shot question after question at the other. Maybe he should try and give him full HP food and heal whatever injuries he had left.

 

Fresh gave a small tug at the towel, trying to not hurt himself by doing that but not really succeeding as he let out a small whimper, tears spilling down his cheek bones at the pain. The towel had snagged onto the back of one of his ribs and he couldn't get it off by himself.

 

Seeing Fresh in pain, Nightmare went on to try and find the source of Fresh's distress. When he observed how Fresh was trying to tug the towel away and how each tug sent him whimpering, he deducted that maybe the cloth was stuck on something. A chip maybe?

"Fresh? Fresh tell me what's wrong so I can help."

 

Fresh let out another whimper and tried to talk but he couldn't, the pain far too great. He only managed a pained gasp but nothing more coherent. He squeezed his eye sockets shut in pain and pointed at the towel like it had offended him. It actually had. How dare this towel give him so much pain!

 

Nightmare nodded in understanding before trying to help Fresh pry off the towel off of his body gently. Or as gently as he could with the help of his tentacles to carefully remove the towel from Fresh.

After a moment of struggling, he had managed to get the towel off of Fresh's body and examined the wound that had caused him so much pain. Ah... Now he saw it. There was a chip on his ribs and the towel had gotten snagged and with each pull it was practically ripping the piece of bone from the rib.

Nightmare grabbed a jar of healing gel and applied it onto the rib before grabbing the gauze to keep it in place. "Fresh... what exactly happened to you?" he asked.

He had been stopping himself from asking Fresh before he was ready. But with the constant pain and injuries that kept popping up, he needed to know. And he wouldn't take no for an answer.

 

Fresh winced as the towel was removed. He let out a small, relieved sigh when Nightmare applied healing gel. It really helped to soothe the pain.

"Um... We-well... Someone noticed tha-that I hung out with you a-all and they kidnapped me and hu-hurt me to get in-information about you..." Fresh admitted quietly, his voice shaky with fear. He really didn't want to think about it... He started trembling, curling in on himself slightly.

 

Nightmare immediately pulled him into a soft, loose hug before talking softly, trying not to make Free panic more. "We already got that part. I'm talking about what they did. I know it's hard but I need to know Fresh. Please. Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you."

Nightmare's eye narrowed and flashed violently once. "I promise. You're one of ours now. And we won't let one of OURS get hurt. Especially by hypocrites like THEM."

 

Fresh closed his eye sockets tightly and hugged back, tears rolling down his cheek bones. It made his very soul soar that they thought of him as theirs.

"I.. They..." Fresh sniffled quietly. "I was just minding my own business and jumping through a few AUs when I landed in a Swapfell copy. Swapfell-17... And then... They just... Knocked me out with a bone to my skull and dragged me to their shed... Then they tied me up and waited for me to w-wake up.. And then they hurt me, cracking my ribs one at a time with a... a.. weird thing... And it hurt so damn much and..." Fresh choked on a sob, his shaky voice cutting off completely as he cried.

 

"Shh...you're okay. You're okay. You're safe. You're doing so well Fresh." Nightmare said softly, hating himself for saying this. "What thing Fresh? What was the thing?"

Hearing Fresh choke on his sobs made his fury rise. He wrapped the skeleton with his tentacles in a makeshift cocoon. Protecting him from all the bad in the world with his aura. "Fresh, I assure you, no one will hurt you as long as you're with us. No one will harm you anymore."

 

"I dunno..." He sobbed quietly, clinging close to Nightmare. "They... they used many things... A... a saw I think and a sledgehammer..." Fresh explained shakily. It had hurt so much! And then they would heal him sloppily only to do everything again!

"B-but I didn't tell th-them anything! I swear!" Fresh sobbed.

 

"Fresh... Fresh it doesn't matter." Nightmare said and hugged him closer. His anger growing. He'd send Error out to find and make the AU suffer. Or better yet, he'd do it himself. Soon. After Fresh went to sleep.

"It doesn't matter if you TOLD them. We'd DEAL with them. We can always deal with them. We can always move out if we had to. Anything can be replaced except YOU Fresh. You're one of a kind."

 

Fresh sobbed loudly as he buried his face into Nightmare's jacket. He was wanted. They had been wrong. He wasn't replaceable. If Nightmare said so it had to be true. His breath hitched slightly and the tears just kept coming, rolling down his cheek bones to soak the taller skeleton's jacket. He felt slightly bad for doing that but he already felt bad enough so he banished that thought.

 

Nightmare let out a soft exhale when he felt Fresh's emotions. Messy, confused, distraught. But most of all, relieved.

That was all Nightmare needed.

He began rubbing Fresh's back and humming softly, a song he and Dream used to sing back when they lived together.

"You and me...  
Dark and Light...  
Sure, we seems like day and night..."

 

Fresh relaxed slowly, gradually and stopped crying after a bit, just not having enough magic to spare. He leaned into Nightmare completely, letting out a soft sigh. His eye sockets were still closed but he wasn't feeling as bad anymore and he was really exhausted. After a while Fresh went completely limp, finally falling asleep.

 

Feeling Fresh fall limp on him, Nightmare sighed. The other had been through a lot. Too much actually for someone like him. He was not a Dark Sans. He was not used to this. He was not bad. Yet he was being treated like one.

'Well,' Nightmare thought as he lifted Fresh up and began walking back towards the guest room, his clothes being carried by his tentacles. 'If they're going to treat him like dirt just like the rest of us, we're treating Fresh like one of us.'

Because after all, he deserved it. For being their friend, for saving Cross. For all the pain he'd been through. He deserved some love.

 

Fresh nuzzled Nightmare unconsciously, his aura putting him at ease. He knew he was safe and that fact kept any possible night terrors at bay.

 

Nightmare walked inside, noticing that Error was gone. He sighed. Oh well, Error could take care of them. He needed to take care of Fresh.

Putting the sleeping skeleton onto the bed, Nightmare began dressing the smaller skeleton in the clothes he had brought for him. They fit perfectly, maybe a little loose. Fresh was so... small. Smaller than he should be. Nightmare wanted nothing more than to get some names and kick some asses. But Fresh had been through enough. Nightmare would let him rest. He'd find out about Fresh's past later. But now, he needed to take care of him.

After dressing him up, and healing whatever wounds were left, Nightmare rubbed the top of Fresh's skull and covered him up in a soft, warm blanket. Nightmare pulled out Fresh's shades from his pocket and placed it on the bedside table where Fresh could grab them whenever he wanted.

After making sure everything was okay, Nightmare shut off the lights and left the room. Leaving Fresh alone for the night for him to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
> 
> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After all that has happened to Fresh, you don't expect him to sleep well, do you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fresh - X  
> Swapfell-17 Sans, Horror, Nightmare - Skyler  
> Edit - X
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy! ^^

Fresh slept peacefully for maybe three hours.

Fresh was tied up completely, his arms wrenched behind his back and his legs tied up even though he doubted he could escape anyways. He was forced to kneel and they started asking him questions. He refused to answer.

 

Sans scowled down at the freak. Perfectly tied up. Of course this freak would be involved with those abominations. What had he expected?

Sans knelt down and glared at the virus. The Soul sucking virus. That was what he was.

"Now, this is your last chance. Tell us where your 'friends' are and we'll let you go." Sans smirked evilly. He was actually hoping the other would refuse his generous offer. He hadn't had a good torture victim in months.

 

"No!!" Fresh shouted. He would never tell those people anything. Even if they asked what his favourite colour was he would refuse to answer.

Fresh was determined not to give away his friends' locations. He would rather be tortured than tell these people anything. He couldn't suppress a small shudder of fear though as the Sans grinned down at him evilly.

 

Sans smirked and stood up, stalking over to a dimly lit closet. His favorite room out of every room he had. Inside were rows and rows of perfectly cared for items. Reaching over, he picked up an item from the wall and walked over to his bound victim, playing with the nine tailed whip in his hand. The nine tails of his whip had bits of sharp glass on it.

He smirked down at the virus, loving the look on his face. "I'd remove those hideous glasses but... I don't want to see the Souls you've consumed." he growled lowly, smirking sadistically all the way.

"Let's have some fun."

 

Fresh's eye sockets widened and he thrashed in his bonds, trying to escape. His bones were too thin. If this Sans would use too much force they would just crack! He didn't want to die here! He couldn't die here!

Fresh let out a small whimper and curled in on himself as far as he could, trying to protect his soul. There was fear written all over his face.

 

Sans relished the way he squirmed. Relished the way he had the look of pure terror on his face. Oh how he loved that look on his face.

Sans knelt down and ran a glove covered hand down the virus' ribcage, feeling the density of bone. Trying to see how much pressure it would take to snap it. Oh he didn't want that. Not yet. He just wanted it to hurt. A lot.

Strange. He was really... really fragile. Bones thin. Small. Barely average size. A little difficult to make sure the bones wouldn't snap completely off but luckily, Sans had a lot of control.

Sans smirked down at the virus. "Don't worry, I won't snap your bones off. Not yet anyway."

He stood up and raised his whip. "This will hurt. A lot~!"

 

Fresh's breathing sped up until he was just gasping uselessly, his ribcage stinging with the quick motions. His Soul was aching for oxygen as he stared up at the Sans fearfully. Or rather the whip he had in his hand.

Fresh's eye sockets widened incredibly when the whip was raised and he stiffened, bracing for the pain.

 

Sans smirked and brought down the whip onto the virus' small and fragile ribs with a loud...

***CRACK***

~~~

 

Fresh was still screaming and in pain when he woke up, or so he thought. He sobbed and tried moving, his eye sockets shooting open when he heard a clanking sound. He was bound by chains, his arms chained together and then to the wall. He couldn't move all that much and was forced to stand even as his legs hurt.

Fresh's ribs were still aching but not burning like only moments before. What was happening?!

 

"Good, you're finally awake." Sans growled as he dropped his healing magic. The other had almost went unconscious. That wouldn't do at all. Pain, sleep deprivation and starvation were the best ways to make them talk. Thus, he couldn't let this freak pass out and gain his strength to refuse answers. Though, it was such a waste using a rare skill on this abomination. But for interrogation purposes, he could make an exception.

Sans walked away from the sobbing skeleton to a metal table where large items were placed. Some bloody with wet blood from being used on the skeleton earlier. Sans hovered his fingers over a few items before he smirked and picked up a large sledgehammer.

He grinned maliciously at the sobbing skeleton as he locked the legs in place taut with thick chains. Couldn't have him moving and missing his target, right?

He tapped the heavy weapon on the ground three times before raising it into position, testing the swing to its trajectory, the knees.

"Last chance bitch. Where are they?" he asked with a large grin.

 

No! Not good! Fresh wanted to shout but he was a blubbering mess, crying as he thrashed in his bonds, trying to get his weak body to cooperate and get out of there.

Fresh didn't even notice that the Sans went away but certainly noticed when he returned, carrying a large sledgehammer. He knew from previous torture that this would be used on him no matter what he did. Except maybe if he told him what he wanted to know...

No! How could he even think tha-

Fresh's eye sockets widened when the sledgehammer was swung into the direction of his knee.

No!!!!

It stopped just short of it, making him let out a relieved gasp. Then he heard the other's words... He would _not_ tell the other _anything_!

"Go.. to hell..." He forced out between sobs. The first time he had cursed in forever...

 

Sans smirked with sadistic joy. He had expected that.

"You think that was supposed to be intimidating? Cause I could barely hear it over your pathetic sobs." Sans chuckled and tested his swings again, getting closer and closer, but not meeting his target. Not yet. Just a little longer. "Suit yourself. We'll get you to talk soon. We have _plenty of time_."

With those words, Sans raised the hammer high and swung it down. The force of the swing hitting its target with a loud...

***SNAP***

 

Fresh sobbed loudly, trying to get away from the sledgehammer. The Sans was going to shatter his knee! He couldn't! The small skeleton flinched hard every time it came close but maybe the Sans would show him a small mercy an-

Fresh let out a blood-curdling scream when the sledgehammer connected, his knee shattering completely. Aghh! It hurt so much!!!! He... He couldn't feel his leg anymore... No! No!!!

Fresh choked on a sob, his screaming stopping, agony coursing through his whole body.

 

Sans laughed loudly over the virus' screams. The sounds of his pain filled him with so much joy! He deserved it. This virus deserved all of this pain for protecting the Dark Sanses! Who would do that?! No one!

Sans' laughter died off to a chuckle then a frown when he realized the bastard was slipping into unconsciousness. He looked down and saw the leg below the knee was starting to dust. He scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance before kneeling down and started using healing magic to keep it in tact. This was getting annoying. The other was so fragile. It limited Sans' abilities to do proper torture without risking him dusting.

He looked up and saw how close to unconsciousness the virus was. He smirked and stood up, cupping his chin and turning it upwards slightly to meet Sans' grinning face. "I'll make you a deal. Tell me why you're protecting them and I'll let you sleep for once."

 

Fresh gasped in pain, his view blurring at the edges. He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep forever...

Fresh yelped as he felt his leg again, the connection established but it hurt even worse! He choked on a sob and averted his eyes, not wanting to see what was actually happening down there. It couldn't be good. He stared at the wall, sobbing quietly.

Fresh flinched when his face was grabbed and he was forced to stare into the soulless eyes of the Sans. The shorter skeleton sniffled quietly, trying to jerk his head out of the firm grip and failing pathetically.

"T-they are my fr-fr-friends..." Fresh choked out, tears dripping down his cheek bones. It couldn't hurt to answer one question, right?

He only noticed his mistake later...

 

Sans growled and let go of the virus' face in disgust before giving a harsh slap. The force hard enough to snap his neck to the side and a crack formed on his cheek bone.

"FRIENDS?! THOSE BASTARDS ARE YOUR FRIENDS?!" He hollered furiously. "You couldn't get better friends huh?! You just had to be friends with freaks like them!!!"

His hand flexed against the handle of the sledgehammer, itching to just hit this betrayer again and again until he dusted. He was growling in rage as he glared down at the pathetic skeleton. He was like that for minutes, but then a thought came to mind.

He smirked and gently pressed two fingers just behind the virus' skull, right where the skull connected with the neck bone.

"Well then, I'll let you rest for now. When you wake up though, we're going to work on finding those 'friends' of yours." he said before shooting a sharp spark of violent magic straight into the bone. A sure way to make anyone pass out, skeletons included. He'd tried this on Papyrus a few times too and it had worked every time.

 

Fresh let out a pained groan, his view sharpening slightly as he became a bit more aware of his surroundings. His cheek was burning, his skull thrumming with pain and everything else hurt too. His leg was in agony.

His eye lights went out in shock. He had let it slip that they were his friends?! No!! He needed to... protect them...

He flinched at the touch against his neck and looked up fearfully. This couldn't mean anything goo-

Everything was suddenly black.

\------------------

Fresh opened his eye sockets with a pained groan. What was happening?

 

Sans smirked from his spot near the metal table, looking over to his bound victim tied taut on a medical chair. He knew keeping it was a good idea. The straps and position would make this easier for him.

He walked over to the virus and smirked down at him, one gloved hand touching his cracked cheek. "How is my patient doing?" he asked sweetly, internally laughing. Patient. That sounded accurate for what he had planned.

 

Fresh's eye lights were hazy and unfocused from the pain but he stared up at the other defiantly. He would not be broken that easily...

Then the Sans touched his cheek bone and fire erupted in his skull. He let out an agonised groan, not catching what the other was saying as the pain took over all his senses.

 

Sans smiled widely in response and removed his hand, walking back over to the table.

"Great then." he said loudly.

The table was filled with various medical equipment that he had Papyrus steal from the Labs. All ranging from scalpels to needles. All for this particular torture.

His fingers trailed over one item before lifting it up. A small bone saw.

He turned back towards Fresh and walked slowly, building anticipation. "Here's how it's going to go. For every unanswered question, I'll saw once. When the bone is sawed off, I'll put it back with a little healing magic after putting a little hyper magic in you to keep you awake."

He stopped right over the virus and trailed the sharp end of the blade just over his victim's ribs, the blade making a satisfying clinking noise every time it went over a bone. He felt satisfied when the virus struggled in his bonds but inevitably couldn't move because of the restraints.

"I'm going to find out where your 'friends' are." Sans growled lowly at the skeleton. "Not even someone like you could resist this one. Let's get started... shall we?"

 

Fresh's eye sockets widened when he saw the bone saw and heard what the other was going to do. He struggled in his bonds but he couldn't move all that much, panicked eye lights fixed on the Sans.

Fresh gasped in pain as the saw touched him even though nothing really painful had happened yet. Stars, he was going to die here... How long until the Sans would decide to just saw his neck? He shuddered even thinking about it, his whole body much more tense than it should be.

"N-no..." Fresh whispered weakly. Nightmare and his gang and Error had been the only ones to treat him with kindness and he would never betray them. Even if it would cost him his life... His normal eye light shrunk to a tiny pinprick.

 

Sans scoffed at his plea and pressed the saw on the bottom rib, adding slight pressure as a warning.

"Question one, what's their weakness'. Anyone's weakness'. You got multiple choices here." he said warningly.

 

Fresh's empty eye sockets widened, his mind reeling. He couldn't tell the Sans anything but he couldn't risk his rib! He needed that rib!

"U-uh... They d-dun have an-any..." Fresh stammered out his lie. He looked incredibly anxious, hoping the Sans would not recognise his lie as such. If he did, he was screwed. He couldn't tell the truth. He squeezed his empty eye sockets shut, not wanting to see whether he was successful or not.

 

Sans hummed and put on a little more pressure. "They don't have one... or do you not know?" he asked calmly.

The other might not know this. After all, those Dark Sanses were reclusive. He would not be surprised if they never showed their weaknesses to anyone, even their 'friend'.

 

Fresh yelped in fright, squeezing his eye sockets shut tightly.

"I do-don't know any wea-weaknesses..." Fresh stammered anxiously, lying once again. He was breathing heavily, wondering if the Sans would accept the answer.

 

Sans huffed and decided to try another question. "Any loved ones? Anyone they care about?"

Maybe Sans could use blackmail on them. Their loved ones had to be easier to deal with that the actual Sanses. It'd be like kidnapping a moldsmol.

 

Fresh shook his head, sniffling quietly.

"Th-they don't care ab-about anybody..." Fresh whimpered quietly. They really only cared about each other and Horror about his brother. There was nobody else they cared about. He doubted they would care all that much if the Sans would try to blackmail them with him...

 

Sans hummed and removed the saw from the rib for a moment to think. No loved ones that this virus knew of. That made sense. They'd probably lost all kinds of things from being insane. They'd never showed their weakness to this virus either. Too careful. No one they cared about. This virus probably thought that his relationship with the Dark Sanses was friendship and not mutual allies. A simple, stupid mistake.

A thought came to Sans' mind as suddenly. He was always curious.

"What can you tell me about Nightmare?" he asked and showed the glistening blade in the air. "And don't lie~"

 

Fresh already thought that the questioning was over and was about to relax a bit when the Sans asked him another question. He felt nervous sweat gathering on his skull, thankfully hidden by his hat.

"U-uh.. he's th-the lord of ne-negativity and h-has tentacles and... and....." Fresh tried to think of something else to tell the Sans that everyone already knew about or that would be irrelevant.

"He... Uhh..." Fresh stammered.

 

"Tch!" Sans clicked his tongue impatiently and moved the sharp blade over the rib once, drawing out blood and a pained scream.

"I mean, something we **don't** know." he growled and glared down at the skeleton. "How did he become so powerful? How can we **kill** him?"

 

Fresh's eye sockets widened and he let out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing in his bonds which made it even worse, the saw digging a lot further into the bone as planned which made it even more painful, marrow dripping from the injury.

"I-I-I don't know!!!" Fresh shouted, sobbing loudly. He didn't know, he didn't know. He swore he didn't know. But he knew.

 

Sans stared down hard at the sobbing skeleton before he frowned. Not a lie. The bastard didn't know anything. The virus was in too much pain to lie anyways.

"Then how do we weaken him?" he asked instead. "He has to have a weakness. Everyone does! So don't lie this time or else!"

To make his point, Sans shifted the blade forwards an inch, cutting slightly deeper.

 

Fresh screamed, flinching harshly. It hurt so stars-damned much!!!

"I do-don't know!!" He sobbed, curling in on himself as much as possible in his position as he continued crying pathetically. This was really getting to him.

 

Sans growled and sawed the bone harder in anger. "LIAR!"

The force was enough to break Fresh's fragile rib clean through. The piece of bone fell onto the ground with a soft clink, completely drowned out by Fresh's scream.

 

Fresh screamed loudly, probably loud enough to shatter his voice or his opponent's ear magic. After a few awfully long moments his scream cut off suddenly and he was sobbing now, trying not to think about the fact that he was missing a whole rib!!!

Fresh glanced down and when he saw the extent of the damage, his separated rib already starting to dust, he tried to scream but found he couldn't. His voice was gone. How was he supposed to answer questions now?!!!

 

Sans rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance, crouching down to pick up the dusting rib, already pumping healing magic to make sure it stopped dusting. The bone immediately stopped flaking off dust and reformed back into a severed piece of bone.

Sans walked over to the table, muttering curses under his breath as he set down the saw and picked up a syringe instead.

He walked back towards Fresh and watched as the skeleton looked at him panicked, his mouth open but no sound coming out.

"Already?" Sans said with a raised brow and sighed. He lowered the needle to the open part of the rib and plunged it into the marrow, pumping the liquid inside the bone before he connected the rib back on and healed it enough to stay in place.

"You're really fragile, you know that?" Sans muttered while raising a hand to Fresh's neck. Pressing two fingers onto the bone, he sent healing magic into the bone and through his magic, fixing his voice. "Makes my job harder compared to a sturdier monster."

Sans removed his hand and switched the syringe for a scalpel. "So, what about the others? What do you know about them?"

With that question, he picked the other lower rib and pressed the sharp blade down onto the bone, already drawing out blood.

 

Fresh followed the movement of the other skeleton intently. He didn't want to be caught unaware. Maybe the Sans was done? Maybe he would leave him alone? Fresh's eye sockets widened when he saw the syringe.

No... Please...

Fresh closed his eye sockets tightly when the other called him fragile. He knew he was fragile and weak. Extremely fragile and weak. Everyone always made sure to remind him of that fact...

Fresh sobbed silently, choking when the other stuck a needle into his injury and reattached the rib. He would have screamed if he had been able to so he just thrashed in agony, sobbing.

He let out a loud gasp when his voice worked again before letting out a scream.

"I-I don't kn-know..." Fresh stammered anxiously. He couldn't tell this maniacal skeleton anything!

 

Sans hummed accusingly before digging the blade deeper, forcing it to chip off instead of just sawing it off. Small injuries hurt worse than big ones because the area applied was smaller, more focused.

"You're lying. Are you really enjoying this?" he asked calmly over the other's pained screams as he chipped off more of the bone. "What a filthy freak you are. Getting off of pain, aren't you? Why else are you asking for this?"

 

Fresh gasped in pain, his breathing heavy.

No! He hated pain! He didn't like this! How sick was the other to even think that?! A horrible thought struck him. What if the Sans was going to rape him?!!!

Fresh whimpered, a scream tearing from his already raw throat as the Sans hurt him more. He had such a bad headache too. Everything hurt... His vision flickered, darkening a bit. He couldn't help but hope for unconsciousness.

 

Sans ignored the screams and dug in deeper, finally making a large chip of bone fall off revealing the marrow inside. He noticed Fresh's quickly depleting screams and struggles and reached for another smaller syringe. He injected more hyper magic into the wound to keep Fresh awake before he went to another rib and started carving.

"I've always wanted to practice art. Maybe this will be a great opportunity." he smirked and kept chipping the bone, looking like he was craving an intricate art piece instead of torturing someone.

"We have all the time in the world..."

~~~

 

Fresh gasped for breath as he woke up in the same shed he had passed out in. Would his torture ever end? His whole body was an agonised mass of nerves and he was sure it wouldn't take more than a day to finally break him completely.

 

Sans was too busy wiping his sharp knife with a dirty cloth, already soaked in blood. He looked back towards Fresh with the look of frustration and annoyance.

"You're finally awake." he said, a slight edge in his tone clearly showing his frustration. He stood up and stalked over to Fresh with the knife, watching the bound skeleton struggling. "I have to say, you're doing better than I had expected. Barely."

Once he was close enough, he snatched a bleeding rib in a tight grip. He didn't bother to heal the bones this time. What was the use? Better to just make sure he wouldn't dust anytime soon. But he was getting frustrated with the virus' persistence!

"No more games."

He pulled at the rib harder and harder, the pressure growing each second until the bone finally snapped clean off.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Horror was jolted awake with a gasp when he heard a loud agoniz3e scream echoing behind the door. He sat up and looked around searching for the source.

It came from another room.

He slipped out of bed, careful to avoid the other skeletons sleeping around him and rushed out the door. He rushed towards another room where the scream originated.

He swung open the door and gasped at the sight he saw. Fresh was screaming loudly, thrashing on the bed as if in pain.

He was having a nightmare. No... He was reliving a memory it seemed.

Horror rushed to his side and- with logic out of the door in fear and worry- he began shaking the skeleton. Grabbing the other's arms to keep the skeleton from harming himself.

 

No. No no no! Fresh's eye lights vanished as pain exploded in his ribcage, the rib snapping off. Blinding pain coursed through his whole body and he let out a blood-curdling scream, thrashing wildly in his bonds. He didn't know how long he screamed. The only thing he was aware of was the agonising pain. Tears were running down his face and he started sobbing loudly. Something was holding him down, hands closing around his wrists and holding them tightly. Fresh's eye sockets were squeezed shut and he had no idea what was happening anymore.

 

Horror tried to pin Fresh down but with his constant thrashing, Fresh was almost as strong as him. Horror was worried out of his mind. What had happened?!

"Fresh! Fresh wake up! Wake up! It's me! Horror! Wake the fuck up!" Horror yelled in an almost panicked tone. Oh stars. His curse didn't even get censored by Fresh's magic. This was bad.

Taking a risk, Horror pulled Fresh up and hugged him tightly. The bloody skeleton breathed in and out softly, trying to lead Fresh's breathing to be normal.

"Breathe Fresh. In... and out... in.... and out..." Horror said, doing the movement and exaggerated his breathing, taking slow deep breaths in and out.

 

Fresh continued thrashing, trying to shake the presence off. He was finally able to move better and like hell was he going to give up his chance to escape!

Wait. What was that? That wasn't supposed to be here... It felt like he was being hugged. Fresh slowly calmed down but not before punching Horror in his face.

Fresh blinked as he woke up, taking a bit of time to actually understand the other skeleton's words.

 

Horror winced when Fresh punched him. Fuck. For a little guy he had a good arm.

Horror didn't let go and began rubbing the back of Fresh's skull gently. "Shh... Breathe Fresh. In... and out. In... and out. Come on. Relax."

 

Fresh slowly managed to make out what Horror was saying and followed his instructions, breathing calmly after about a minute. He slowly relaxed into the embrace and hugged Horror back, sighing quietly. He was so glad that that was over. He doubted he'd still be sane if he had to go through another memory. He had been so scared. What if he hadn't been able to escape? Would he still be alive? Fresh let out a small sob, starting to cry.

 

"Fresh?" Horror asked and looked down, jolting in shock to see his tears. "Fresh, what's wrong? What's wrong buddy? Tell me so that I can help." Horror said while gently wiping away the tears with his thumb.

He may nor may not have copied the others for that line.

 

Fresh sniffled quietly, looking up, his eye lights slightly hazy around the edges.

"Sledgehammer..." He whimpered quietly, not making much sense.

 

Horror hugged him tighter at the response he gained, his skull paled and he gulped. Please don't be what he think he's thinking.

"W-what do you mean Fresh?" he asked shakily but steeled his voice.

 

"They hu-hurt me... To-tortured me..." Fresh responded, seeming to be in a daze. He was obviously not fully there yet.

 

'Fuck.' Horror thought as he felt his anger growing. 'I was right.'

"Well," he started and laid back on the bed with Fresh in his lap. "They're not there now. No one will hurt you while you're with us. We'll make sure no one will even TOUCH you let alone hurt you.

Horror hugged him tightly to his chest silently. They were silent for a few moments, relishing in each other's warmth before he spoke softly.

"You doing okay Fresh?" he asked.

 

"Nah... but you made it better..." Fresh mumbled quietly. He had to be pretty out of it to admit that he was doing bad. He was still slightly dazed, a self-preservation reflex to keep him sane. Horror was so nice and warm... Fresh giggled quietly.

 

Horror raised a brow when Fresh giggled. He was very worried. The colourful skeleton had admitted to not doing well. And he was like Nightmare with how he was hiding himself. So to admit not doing well considering he had always hidden his pain, that was very worrying.

"What's on your mind Fresh?" Horror asked softly. "Talking about it can really help."

 

"Too much." Fresh replied with a small giggle. Everything was just so damn funny. He was such a joke! Hm… Maybe Horror was right. He tried to stay serious for a bit.

"Well... A weird Sans kidnapped and tortured me... He wanted Information on you guys but I didn' give him any..." Fresh explained quietly. "The scalpel hurt most..."

 

Horror looked and sounded calmer than he actually felt after he heard that.

"Really? That must have hurt. I'm sorry you had to go through that." he said gently, carefully. He needed to bring Fresh out of whatever pain filled haze he was in.

 

Fresh nodded after a while. He didn't really want to talk about it but it seemed like it was okay.

"It did... Carved weird things into my bones and all that..." Fresh replied, shuddering a bit. He unconsciously scratched his left arm where some of the carvings were. He had no idea what they said. He hadn't been able to force himself to look at them yet and some might have already vanished with the healing magic. His eye sockets became more distant as he thought about it. There had been so much pain and he had been screaming and the Sans had been screaming at him, telling him such horrible stuff that was still so true.

"I'm such a leech..." Fresh mumbled more to himself than to Horror but if he listened closely he might have caught it.

 

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Horror asked, pressing Fresh's skull close to his ribs just over his Soul. The angle prevented Fresh from seeing the furious face the other wore. He could guess Nightmare had left to deal with the person who had done this to Fresh. Deal without mercy.

 

"Hm?" Fresh looked confused for a second before he caught up with what he was saying.

"Because it's true... Everyone always reminds me of that fact... Thanks for treating me like a person..." Fresh mumbled quietly, burying his face into Horror's shirt to prevent him from seeing his tears. He was such a freak...

 

"Treating you like...?" Horror's voice trailed off in, well, horror. Fresh was treated badly? By everyone? By his tone this hadn't even been recent. He'd been treated badly all his life. Called a leech. This made Horror's anger bubble and boil over. No one should be treated badly. Especially not Fresh!

"You are a person." he said calmly but firmly. "How else are we supposed to treat you? You're not a leech. You're a kind, chill, and loving monster. Heck, you saved Cross when you knew it'd risk your life. Not everyone does that. So really, you aren't everyone. You're one of a kind."

 

Fresh's eye sockets widened in shock. What? He was a leech. He was an evil being. Had... had everyone been lying...? Fresh's breath hitched slightly.

Why was Horror saying all of these things? It made Fresh's cheek bones light up with magic. He.. had saved Cross.

Maybe..

"Y-you mean it?" Fresh asked quietly. He had to know and then, maybe he could accept it. That everyone had been treating him wrong and that these people were his friends and wouldn't get sick of him like everybody else did.

 

"Of course I do." Horror said with conviction. "I mean every word Fresh. We're not like the others in this... this biased multiverse."

Horror thought for a moment before he spoke. "Although, if they're treating you badly, why don't you just stay here? Where we'll treat you how you're supposed to be treated. I'm sure Nightmare wouldn't mind another person in this... gigantic place we call a house."

 

Fresh's grip on Horror tightened with every word but was never enough to make him uncomfortable.

"I.. I don't know..." Fresh replied quietly. He really didn't know. It would have many benefits to stay here but it would also heighten the chance of the others getting sick of him faster... Or would they get sick of him..?

 

"Why not?" Horror asked while gently rubbing Fresh's spine through the thin shirt. He could feel the bandages that were under the soft loose material. Nightmare had to have fixed him up. Horror wondered what had happened while he had been asleep.

"What's on your mind?"

 

Fresh sighed quietly, relaxing slightly.

"You'll get sick of me. I'm annoying. I'm scary. I get nightmares all the time. I'm clumsy, stupid, unhealthy to be around... The list stretches into infinity..." Fresh explained, only listing off a small number of the bad qualities he had.

 

"I'm petty, vengeful, violent, a hot head and so much more." Horror retorted Fresh's argument. "We all have flaws. That doesn't define who we are. It's a part of us, not what we are."

 

Fresh looked up at Horror in surprise. He had always been told that he was nothing but a freak... But Horror was his... friend. He wouldn't lie to him. And he knew first hand that everything Horror was saying was true.

"Okay..." Fresh mumbled, accepting it. His mind was still screaming at him what a failure he was but deep in his soul he knew that Horror was right.

"Maybe I can stay for a few day- weeks." He relented. He felt so tired of always being beaten up.

 

Horror hummed happily at the answer, his arms tightening their hold slightly as he laid back against the pillow with Fresh tucked to his chest.

"Good." he mumbled sleepily as he unconsciously stroked Fresh's back and skull.

It didn't take long before both skeletons fell asleep, this time a good rest devoid of nightmares and night terrors.

Sometime during their sleep, the others had woken up and found the two sleeping together in the guest room. One by one they climbed the bed and slept curled around each other.

 

Fresh woke up hours later, feeling safe and protected for once in his life. He smiled and cuddled into Horror, finding comfort in the way the others were surrounding him. He felt that maybe everything would be okay.

 

Nightmare peeked inside the room with the look of worry before it turned into relief when he saw everyone sleeping together on the bed. He closed the door silently and left, making sure to clean the blood and dust off of himself.

What was his shall be protected. What was his shall be cared for. If anyone touched them, they'd wish Error had come to destroy them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoyed! If you did please leave us a Kudos or even a comment to show us that you liked it! ^^
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> Hope you have a nice day! ^^


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